Weekend Edition (18 - 19 Mar)

• One of the biggest news stories of the weekend is this NYTimes report on the history of serious prisoner abuse enacted by an elite Special Operations forces unit in Iraq.
  

  In the windowless, jet-black garage-size room, some soldiers beat prisoners with rifle butts, yelled and spit in their faces and, in a nearby area, used detainees for target practice in a game of jailer paintball.
  [...]
  Placards posted by soldiers at the detention area advised, "NO BLOOD, NO FOUL." The slogan, as one Defense Department official explained, reflected an adage adopted by Task Force 6-26: "If you don't make them bleed, they can't prosecute for it." According to Pentagon specialists who worked with the unit, prisoners at Camp Nama often disappeared into a detention black hole, barred from access to lawyers or relatives, and confined for weeks without charges. "The reality is, there were no rules there," another Pentagon official said.

  I'll try to post some more excerpts later, but you should take some time and give it a full read. It's guaranteed to piss you off.


• Time has a shocking story of a potential revenge killing in Iraq by US Marines:
  

  On the morning of Nov. 19, 2005, a roadside bomb struck a humvee carrying Marines from Kilo Company, 3rd Battalion, 1st Marines, on a road near Haditha, a restive town in western Iraq. The bomb killed Lance Corporal Miguel (T.J.) Terrazas, 20, from El Paso, Texas. The next day a Marine communique from Camp Blue Diamond in Ramadi reported that Terrazas and 15 Iraqi civilians were killed by the blast and that "gunmen attacked the convoy with small-arms fire," prompting the Marines to return fire, killing eight insurgents and wounding one other.
  [...]
  According to eyewitnesses and local officials interviewed over the past 10 weeks, the civilians who died in Haditha on Nov. 19 were killed not by a roadside bomb but by the Marines themselves, who went on a rampage in the village after the attack, killing 15 unarmed Iraqis in their homes, including seven women and three children.

• Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Alawi puts it plainly (via the BBC):
  

  "It is unfortunate that we are in civil war. We are losing each day as an average 50 to 60 people throughout the country, if not more. "If this is not civil war, then God knows what civil war is."
  
  Mr Allawi added that a national unity government may not be "an immediate solution" to the country's problems. Iraq is moving towards the "point of no return", he said, when the country would fragment.

• But Newsweek columnist Fareed Zakaria calls Iraq's current situation "appalling, but not hopeless:"
  

  So why have I not given up hope? Partly it's because I have been to Iraq, met the people who are engaged in the struggle to build their country and cannot bring myself to abandon them. Iraq has no Nelson Mandelas, but many of its leaders have shown remarkable patience, courage and statesmanship. Consider the wisdom and authority of Ayatollah Sistani, or the fair-minded and effective role of the Kurds, or the persistent pleas for secularism and tolerance from men like Ayad Allawi.
  [...]
  If, after all this chaos, a new and different kind of Iraqi politics emerges, it will make a difference in the region. Even now, amid the violence, one can see that. The old order in Iraq was built on fear and terror. One group dominated the land, oppressing the others. Now representatives of all three communities—Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds—are sitting down at the table, trying to construct a workable bargain they can all live with.

  We shall see.


• President Bush returns to the straw man in his weekly radio address marking the third anniversary of the beginning of the Iraq War, in which he also mentions the S-word for the first time in memory in conjunction with this conflict:
  

  "More fighting and sacrifice will be required," Bush said in his weekly radio address. "For some, the temptation to retreat and abandon our commitments is strong. Yet there is no peace, there's no honor and there's no security in retreat. So America will not abandon Iraq to the terrorists who want to attack us again."

• In the snarky faux President's Weekly Radio Address, domestic security is highlighted--here's an excerpt:
  

  It is my duty to announce this week that my senior domestic policy advisor was arrested for shoplifting at Target. [ed note: that would be Claude Allen] He stands accused of stealing kitchen utensils, socks, and tupperware containers from the store. [voices notes incredulousness] What people need to understand is that when the Congress gave my administration broad new powers after 9/11, that included the authority to steal from Target whatever supplies we may need to conduct the war on terror.

• Speaking of Presidential powers, another big story just starting to brew in the kettle this weekend is a coming report from US News and World Report that alleges the White House has tried to use the same justification for warrantless physical searches as it did for warrantless wiretapping of US citizens. It was highlighted on a Friday segment on Keith Olbermann's MSNBC Countdown show, which you can watch over at Crooks and Liars. Also, you can read part of the transcript over at mcjoan's Daily Kos diary. The article doesn't seem to be up at the US News site yet, but once it is I'll excerpt more of it.


• The NYTimes has an interesting article on NPR's growth over the past couple of years (while other news organizations down-size), thanks to a $230 million gift from Joan B. Kroc, the widow of Ray A. Kroc, the man who built the McDonald's chain. That helped create 70 new jobs in its newsroom, many of them for reporters on newly created beats like police and prisons, labor, international economics, the environment, technology and the media--which has helped fuel the number of weekly unique listeners (doubling to 25 million in the past decade). It just shows you that the populace still craves serious news.
  
  But the article also quotes judicial beat reporter Nina Totenberg warning listeners not to take this largess (which was added to the endowment) for granted and continue to give to your local NPR station. I'll be doing just that for both Seattle NPR stations--KUOW and KPLU (which is actually located in Tacoma). I'll also be volunteering for the first time at one of these pledge drives over at KUOW during one of my fave afternoon shows, The Beat with Dave Beck (who goes to church with Mrs. F and is also a wonderful cellist) and Megan Sukys.


• Blue on Blues: Chelsea suffered a 1-nil defeat at the hands of local rivals Fulham, with defender William Galas (a hero from last weekend's win over another London rival, Tottenham Hotspur) sent off on a red card in injury time.


• Facade Friend Ward Sutton was featured in this Sunday's NYTimes Week in Review section with his latest cartoon (published weekly in the Village Voice). It's not featured in the online NYTimes WiR section, but you can see it at the Voice in glorious full color.
  
  
• Finally, if you're interested in getting involved with homeless/low-income issues in downtown Seattle, there are a number of good organizations out there. But I'm troubled by what I've heard about the Family and Adult Service Center, which provides employment programs and family services to the homeless population of downtown Seattle. From the looks of their web site, they seem to have a lot going for them. But based on what I've heard from a former employee, they seem to have a toxically mean-spirited and backbiting staff that shows little appreciation to the core of the organization: its volunteers. I'd love to see this organization succeed in its mission, but right now I'm pissed off at how they treated this former employee (a good Friend of the Facade and a very capable, skilled person with whom I've worked alongside). I'm just flabbergasted at their spite, but I'll turn off the iRant now.
  
  There are many other outlets that would welcome your help and are very affirming of clients, volunteers, and donors. I have been associated with the Pike Place Market Foundation for some time (click this link, or the illustration of mascot Rachel the Pig at the right), and I highly recommend them for the multitude of services they offer (medical care for low-income and elderly downtown residents, a food bank, and much more). You can also learn of other services that you can donate to or volunteer with from this Seattle city government page. If you have any other suggestions, please add a comment.