Malkin Misleading Again

Newsmax is claiming and Michelle Malkin is making a big deal that the majority of deaths in Katrina were not African American. They base this upon preliminary identifications of victims at the St Gabriel Morgue. And that is a problem. Of a total of 883 at St. Gabriels, demographics for 562 was given. The race was determined for only 514. At this point 48% were African American, 41% Caucasion. However 321 more bodies have yet to be included and the the race of 48 bodies of the 562 was stated as unknown. To make any pronouncements based upon 58% of the victims at this point is just wrong.

In a previous post I wrote "After going through the list of the 338 identified victims I determined that 76% were 60 years of age or older."
But note I also said this...
"As the demographic breakdown below is only for about 1/3 of the dead it seems pre-mature to draw anything from the stats. It remains to be seen if any of this will stand after all bodies are recovered and processed."

I would certainly not have concluded the victims of Katrina were 76% elderly based on ~33% nor even 58%. And it is wrong to draw any definitive conclusions on racial demographics for only 58% of the victims. It is just statistically dishonest.

More important there is the fact that the death toll is incomplete. First Malkin's statistics are from 11/14. There have been 33 more bodies found between 11/18 and 11/28 most from St Bernards and Orleans Parishes. Orleans Parish is 66% black and St Bernards includes areas that are 97.8% African American. Further bodies were still being found just a week ago in the predominantly black lower 9th Ward that was was just opened to residents Dec. 1. Also the "Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals is getting copies of evacuees' death certificates from other states and reviewing them to see which deaths likely were caused or hastened by the Aug. 29 storm. " Finally 6644 people are still missing post Katrina and authorities are "particularly concerned about an estimated 1,300 unaccounted-for people" who they "haven't been able to determine what happened to them suggesting that the death toll from Katrina could climb significantly".

But on to Malkin's point.
She quotes from the black survivors of Katrina who testified last week before Congress who believed race was an issue in the poor response to Katrina. She then says this....

Sorry to interrupt the Bush-bashing, tinfoil-wrapped demagoguery, but the actual vital statistics of Katrina casualties, broken down by race, tell a different story.

Well sorry but no we don't really know what story it tells as of yet. And even if these trends hold for all the victims does it tell us something different from the experience of African Americans in post Katrina NOLA? If Malkin were capable of intellectual honesty she maybe would have received the answer from the Times-Picayune article she linked to later in her post . But obviously she reads this story in the same dishonest way she examines statistics as she called it "Farrakhan-ish." Rather the story examines why rumors and distortions occur. It includes this....

Patricia A. Turner, professor of African-American studies at the University of California at Davis, accepts that no explosives were used to destroy the Lower 9th Ward, but she understands how such rumors get started in communities that have suffered years of impoverishment and neglect.
“African-Americans in the Lower 9th Ward have been disenfranchised by those in power,” said Turner, who explores how rumor and conspiracy theories take root in her book “I Heard It Through the Grapevine.”
“I think we are really talking about a fairly commonplace human phenomenon, not necessarily an African-American phenomenon,” Turner said. “Whites are telling stories that are not true, too.”
Stories swirled that there were groups of rapists attacking women sheltered in the Superdome and Ernest N. Morial Convention Center. Those tales, picked up by the news media, got a lot of play nationwide, Turner noted. Such whoppers usually surface in times of crisis, she said.
SNIP
“You can minimize the problems with the next situation if there are some steps to create some social justice as a result of Katrina,” she said.

Malkin concludes by leveling blame at African American leaders for not speaking out on her pre-mature and dishonest conclusions. I believe all would be better served to follow Turner's recommendation....show some understanding of how people's perspectives developed and deal with social justice issues now as regards the poor, both black and white. But that certainly wouldn't fit in with Malkin's slash and burn divisive politics now would it.

Private Companies Roles in Rendition Under Scrutiny

Boston Globe reports that private US companies are apparently being utilized in the rendition of prisoners. Several are currently under scrutiny here and in the EU. Richmor Aviation is under the greatest scrutiny. The private aircraft charter company is believed to have flown Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr from Germany to Egypt for interrorgation *cough* torture.
It's so ironic to read Richmor's web page given their alleged role in renditions....

That last lines read....."In fact, the more you know about Richmor, the more you'll want to know. We are the best-kept secret in aviation industry today." (their emphasis)

Well not so secret anymore but yes the more we know the more we want to know.

An ACLU lawsuit seeking financial compensation for the rendition of Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr brought last week names Richmor and CSC (Computer Sciences Corporation). CSC is alleged to have contracted the flight with Richmor for the US government. An anonymous CSC employee said the "company will not did not transport terrorism suspects but that it does transport senior US officials who want to keep a low profile."

I was quite surprised to see CSC which the Globe descibes as an "obscure" company. Well not if you are a fan of Cycling as I am. CSC is a sponsor of a very successful pro road racing team in fact the #1 rated team last year. It's very odd to see my 2 favorite worlds of interest (politics/cycle racing) collide.
CSC could have been more efficient than subcontracting out to Richmor by letting Porter Goss use the CSC team to deliver up Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr......

Sorry I just couldn't resist.

On Katrina's "Official" Death Toll

This artcle raises the question of whether the official death toll really reflects all the Katrina related deaths. Unknown numbers died in the aftermath of Katrina days or weeks later and in places all over the country. They most likely would still be alive had it not been for Katrina. Should they not be included in the death toll? Here is an example....

Clarise M. Horn, 56, died of a stroke in Fort Worth, Texas, where she was taken after five days in the Superdome, said daughter Joycelyn M. Brumfield. After Horn had a stroke six months ago, her daughter said, her doctors said another stroke would kill her.

"During the storm in the Superdome, she was already fragile," Brumfield said. "No medicine, dehydration — it was just awful."

Brumfield said her arm was wrenched from her mother's while buses were loaded at the Superdome. She and other family members wound up on a bus to Kansas City; her mother went to Texas. A day or two later, she learned her mother was dead.

Theocracy???

I just heard Prez Bush say that Iraqis do not want to live under an Iranian style of government. But according to a poll conducted by the BBC it appears the Iraqi people have the greatest confidence in their religious leaders. Are we laying the foundation for a future theocracy in Iraq?

Blanco Documents Online

The documents that Governor Blanco released last week are now available online at the Times-Picayune.
For some reason I get this... "Acrobat Plug in error This operation not allowed" when I try to read any. Does anyone know what this is or more specifically how to rectify it?
I have Adobe 7.0.

Rats Nest of Propaganda Revealed

From the NYT ....

But the work of the contractor, the Lincoln Group, was not a rogue operation. Hoping to counter anti-American sentiment in the Muslim world, the Bush administration has been conducting an information war that is extensive, costly and often hidden, according to documents and interviews with contractors, government officials and military personnel.

The campaign was begun by the White House, which set up a secret panel soon after the Sept. 11 attacks to coordinate information operations by the Pentagon, other government agencies and private contractors.

The military component includes:

The 1,200-strong psychological operations unit based at Fort Bragg turns out what its officers call "truthful messages" to support the United States government's objectives, though its commander acknowledges that those stories are one-sided and their American sponsorship is hidden.

Some of the propaganda includes:

• "In Iraq and Afghanistan, the focus of most of the activities, the military operates radio stations and newspapers, but does not disclose their American ties."
• "Army psychological operations units sometimes pay to deliver their message, offering television stations money to run unattributed segments or contracting with writers of newspaper opinion pieces"
• "The agency [AID] has distributed tens of thousands of iPod-like audio devices in Iraq and Afghanistan that play prepackaged civic messages, but it does so through a contractor that promises "there is no U.S. footprint." (The Ipods were "pink for women and silver for men, which could not be altered to play music or other recordings.")
• "The Pentagon, for example, took over the Taliban's radio station, renamed it Peace radio and began powerful shortwave broadcasts in local dialects, defense officials said."
• "The United States Army publishes a sister paper in Afghanistan, also called Peace. An examination of issues from last spring found no bad news."

There's much more detail on the efforts of the Lincoln Group in placing propaganda in Iraqi newspapers.
And here are a few ideas of the Lincoln Group that were rejected...

the company looked to American popular culture for ways to influence new audiences. Lincoln proposed variations of the satirical paper "The Onion," and an underground paper to be called "The Voice," documents show. And it planned comedies modeled after "Cheers" and the Three Stooges, with the trio as bumbling wannabe terrorists.

Secrets

Every American citizen should know about this
(Via Atrios)

Rest in Peace

Senator Eugene McCarthy




Richard Pryor

If You must.....Put Congress on the First Tour Bus

It's hard to believe affected residents will warm to this idea. The Gray Line bus company will begin sightseeing bus tours through Katrina ravaged sections of New Orleans next month.

Greg Hoffman, Gray Line Vice President and General Manager, addressed issues of sensitivity in touring the storm ravaged area, saying he lost his Lakeview home, too.

“I understand those questions…It is a very sensitive subject, believe me,” Hoffman said. “The turning point for this tour was when we decided the only way we're going to educate the rest of the country on what happened down here is when we bring people down to see it first hand."
Hoffman said tours will be on 25 passenger mini-buses but no one will be allowed to roam. Tickets will be $35 and $3 of each ticket will be donated to four different non-profit groups.

Sensitive oh yes. From their online "brochure" ....

Starting January 4, 2006, Gray Line will offer a blockbuster tour -"Hurricane Katrina - America's Worst Catastrophe!" This tour was created in an attempt to accurately inform visitors from around the world as to the factors contributing to this cataclysmic event. Participants will see and believe, not only the devastation, but also the rebirth and rebuilding needed to save America's Most Interesting City! Although Katrina destroyed homes and buildings, it did not destroy the Southern hospitality for which we are famous.

While their stated aim of bringing attention to the plight of NOLA is certainly needed (as I said put ALL of Congress on the first tour) this idea seems wrong on so many fronts.
Just a $3 donation? Maybe the residents could get in on this and charge a toll every few blocks. Or they could set up souvenir stands......"Get your mold encrusted chunk of my living room wall" here.
They can package this as educational and sensitive but it doesn't change the fact they are making a buck off of tragedy and the venture IS insensitive. Imagine you live there. You exit your FEMA trailer (if you're lucky) to clean up the debris of your home all the while figuring out how you'll make the mortgage payments on said debris when you don't have a job and what comes rolling down the street but the 1:00 Catastophe Tour bus? I think my wave to the gawkers would be one fingered but I'm a Northern Yankee what do I know of Southern Hospitality.
It is just so unseemly and craven and morbid and well you get what I think.
So please don't give $35 to Gray Line. Give it to a Katrina Charity.
Instead of spending an hour on a bus, spend an hour calling or writing your Congressional rep to tell them to make rebuilding the Gulf coast a priority.

Troubling

The International Atomic Energy Agency chief Mohamed ElBaradei warns the international community is losing patience with Iran but insists that military action is not the solution. However....

Washington has said no option is off the table in dealing with Iran's nuclear ambitions, and Israel has made it clear it will not allow its neighbour in the Middle East to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Israeli Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz stated Friday that while diplomatic channels remained the best way to deal with the Iran issue, "it is necessary to also prepare the other means."

On Friday, ElBaradei insisted that there was still a chance to find a diplomatic solution.

"But this window of opportunity is not forever," he said, adding that "the next couple of months are going to be very crucial."
By next March, he said he hoped "things will have moved in the right direction and that we're not talking about the Security Council".

After All This Crap They're Closed on Christmas???

(my sign from Church Sign Generator you can make your own too)

OK this from NYT really burns me. After having to be subjected to this stupid War on Christmas Crap to the point that I almost hate the damn HOLIDAY I learn the Christians won't even be going to church on Christmas Day!!! They harrass and harangue the rest of us for 2 months and when the big day comes they're a No Show???
For Christ's sake don't they know it's the baby Jeebus' birthday.......

Some of the nation's most prominent megachurches have decided not to hold worship services on the Sunday that coincides with Christmas Day, a move that is generating controversy among evangelical Christians at a time when many conservative groups are battling to "put the Christ back in Christmas."
SNIP
Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., always a pacesetter among megachurches, is handing out a DVD it produced for the occasion that features a heartwarming contemporary Christmas tale.
SNIP
What some consider the deeper affront is in canceling services on a Sunday, which most Christian churches consider the Lord's Day, when communal worship is an obligation. The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was in 1994. Some of these same megachurches remained open then, they say, but found attendance sparse.
SNIP
Staff members at Willow Creek said they had had few complaints from members about the church closing on Christmas. Said the Rev. Mark Ashton, whose title is pastor of spiritual discovery: "We've always been a church that's been on the edge of innovation. We've been willing to try and experiment, so this is another one of those innovations."

I guess it just isn't cost effective to be open on Cristmas Day.
See it's just business say like advertising is for K-Mart, Wal Mart, CostCo, KB Toys, Kohl's, BJ's Wholesale Club, FAO Schwarz and Target..... ahem Mr. O'Reilly and American Family Association

If they have the right to buck religious tradition by their willingness to be on the "edge of innovation" then I believe I have the same right and it's called Gay Marriage.

Sometimes You Have to Destroy A Village To Save It

There is still a war going on in Afghanistan. I think people forget this given all that's happening in Iraq. The BBC reports that Kunar province in Eastern Afghanistan is the center of continuing battles. Locals say several groups are working together in fighting Americans including supporters of the Taliban, Al Qaeda and former mujahideen groups. A pattern similar to Iraq has developed whereby American troops clear an area but fighters regroup and return when Americans leave. Americans have now tried new psy-op tactics. One tactic is to broadcast messages on local radio in the name of Kunar's governor to residents of a troublesome village. But it may contravene the Geneva convention according to a human rights group as it implicitly threatens collective punishment......

The BBC obtained a copy of one broadcast from officials in the province who requested anonymity.

They said they had been given the message by American personnel from a local base and believed that is where it had been written, even though it was in the name of the governor and his deputy.

This is how it ends:

"if they [the people of Korengal] are not going to comply with the demands of expelling the enemy from their villages then we will be forced to continue to pursue the enemy relentlessly until the elders either force them to leave or the hand of our national security troops force them out. The people of Korengal are either with the people of Kunar or against them."

However, when asked about the message, the US military said it was not their work.

"I am told we did not write this document; that it was written by the governor," said Lt Colonel Laurent Fox, a spokesman at its headquarters in Kabul, in an e-mailed response.

However, his statement confirmed that US troops had put it out.

"I was told that CJTF-76 (the operational name of the US-led coalition force in Afghanistan) did transcribe it after it came out and ran some messages based on this letter on Peace radio in that area."

But according to Human Rights Watch, regardless of the document's original authorship, broadcasting the message to the people of Korengal could break international conventions.

"It contains a barely veiled threat of collective punishment," said Sam Zarifi, its research director for Asia. "Making such a threat is a violation of the Geneva conventions and other laws of war."

Lt Colonel Laurent Fox said the aim of transmitting the message was to use "non-lethal means against anti-government personnel."

However, some Afghan officials involved in disseminating the broadcast said they were not happy about the language, which they described as "how the foreigners speak".

"It will make things worse," another warned.

It sounds like the American military faces a tough situation in this province. I don't purport to have an answer but these tactics don't appear helpful at all. I don't know why we think we can win the head game war with these people. And when "non-lethal means" don't work, then what? Lethal?

Imagine

John Lennon -- Oct. 9 1940 - Dec. 8, 1980

Imagine there's no countries,
It isnt hard to do,
Nothing to kill or die for,
No religion too,
Imagine all the people
living life in peace...

Got A Question......

Heard this on several cabloids including CNN and here regarding the shooting by Air Marshals in Miami.

"Officials say it was the first time since 9/11 that Air Marshals shot anyone"

Can anyone answer this........Who did Air Marshals shoot on 9/11??????
I wasn't aware of this.
Or am I misunderstanding?

Where's Bill Bennett?

He's needed in da House err make that the Senate.....

The House on Wednesday approved legislation to provide an array of tax breaks aimed at spurring the Gulf Coast's economic recovery -- but would exclude casinos from these benefits. Massage parlors, liquor stores, hot tub facilities, country clubs, racetracks and suntan facilities also would be ineligible for the tax incentives.

The provision sets up a showdown with the Senate, which did not include similar restrictions in its post-Katrina tax relief package.

This insanity is brought to the Katrina ravaged Gulf by social conservatives. Gambling was the biggest industry in the Gulf. It generated 50,000 jobs and $770 million in tax revenue in MS and LA. Hopefully some realists will prevail in the Senate.

Of The People, By The People, For the ..... well some of the people

Lincoln's whole shall not have died in vain blah blah blah government of the people blah blah blah shall not perish....forget about it

From Boston Globe.......

WASHINGTON -- A Republican lawmaker yesterday proposed changing the US Constitution to exclude non-citizens from the census for the purpose of drawing congressional districts, a move that effectively would deny them a voice in US politics.

Under the present system, as determined by the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, the Census Bureau counts all individuals living in the country, once every 10 years. These data are used when drawing up the 435 congressional districts and when determining each state's vote in the Electoral College that decides presidential elections.

Representative Candice Miller of Michigan wants to change that so that both legal and illegal aliens would be excluded.

''This is about fundamental fairness and the American ideal of one man or one woman, one vote."

No it's not. It's about Republicans wanting to maintain control indefinitely. It's disturbing to see all the ways that Republicans propose to shit can the Constitution. This is dangerous to democracy plain and simple.

Coulter Shouted Down

Well she didn't get pied this time but...
From Editor & Publisher.....

STORRS, Ct. Conservative columnist Ann Coulter gave up trying to finish a speech at the University of Connecticut on Wednesday night when boos and jeers from the audience became overwhelming. Coulter cut off the talk after 15 minutes and instead held a half-hour question-and-answer session.

"I love to engage in repartee with people who are stupider than I am," Coulter told the 2,600 people at Jorgensen Auditorium.

Coulter's appearance prompted protests from several groups, including Students Against Hate and the Puerto Rican/Latin American Cultural Center. They criticized her for spreading a message of hate and intolerance.
SNIP
Kareem Mohni, a 20-year-old junior and a member of a campus Republicans group, said he was disgusted with the Jorgensen crowd.

"It really appalled me that we're not able to come together as a group and listen to a different view in a respectful environment," he said

Yes by all means let's have respectful unity for a divisive vile hateful exploitative bigot. No one should whine when Coulter gets shouted down. It's better treatment than she gives.

Dammit

From WMTV.com....

The state Senate voted today to amend the Wisconsin Constitution to ban gay marriage and Vermont-style civil unions.

The Senate voted 19-14 to approve the amendment, which now goes
to the Assembly.

Lawmakers expect it to pass there easily, and be on the
statewide ballot in November.

Alot is on the line in '06 in Wisconsin. First is the governorship. Of course Republicans wanted this amendment on the ballot in '06 just for that reason to try to get voters out to unseat Gov. Doyle (Dem). I hope WI voters wake up to the fact that gays are being used to manipulate them.

Finally the Christian right really wants to get a victory on an anti gay marriage ban in a progressive state like WI. It's a sad day but the fight begins. The group Action Wisconsin has been organizing here for some time. They can use any support you can give. If you can volunteer your time or especially make a donation just click on their link.

NOLA Residents Testify Before Congress

Some incredibly strong black women testified Tuesday before the House Select Katrina Response Investigation Committee. Each of the NOLA residents told their accounts of what happened in NOLA post Katrina and they didn't spar anyone.
At one point Rep. Christopher Shays basically called them liars regarding their testimony that the military pointed guns at children and that they heard explosions just prior to the levee breach. I have video below of the women's response to this (I had to edit parts of the women's responses to get to upload size allowed)
Just to note ......Shays ends up with his head in his hands at one point and Rep Tom Davis as mediator is quite funny also. What I thought watching...... Oy Republican white men at their best.
Also of interest is the question at the end.

Click here to watch video (Direct link, no download, less than 3 minutes)

'Black Sites' Open or Closed?

Todays WaPo reports that Condoleeza Rice would not confirm nor deny whether secret CIA black site prisons exist in Europe....

In an effort to calm tensions triggered by the disclosure, Rice began her trip Monday by reading a detailed statement designed to allay concerns in Europe over CIA practices in the war on terrorism. She neither confirmed nor denied the existence of the clandestine prison system. But she said the CIA's interrogations helped prevent terrorist attacks, and she strongly suggested that the questioning took place with the cooperation of European governments.

However The Guardian is reporting new claims by ABC that the sites were closed....

There were also new and embarrassing revelations yesterday that the CIA had closed down its secret jails in eastern Europe after their existence was revealed early last month by the Washington Post. According to ABC, citing CIA officials, the prisons believed to be in Poland and Romania were shut last month. The 11 al-Qaida suspects held there were flown to north Africa before Ms Rice's trip, the network said.

I don't know if the closures are true but it points out to me that if ever there was a time that America needs hard hitting investigative journalism it is now. This administration will do whatever it can get away with and then more. It has proven to be congenitally incapable of honesty or self correction. Our press is needed to cast a light on all the secrets, deals, corruption, incompetence and graft. Then and only then will there be any hope of accountability.