Target Centermass

Day: November 27, 2005

  • Mother’s Iraq Protest Plays to Smaller Crowd

    Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan’s Thanksgiving vigil in Crawford will not go down as a rousing success.

    Dancing to reggae music and hugging her supporters, Cindy Sheehan led an anti-Iraq war rally Saturday at a one-acre campsite adjoining the ranch where President Bush is spending his holiday weekend

    Wait, whoa, stop right there! Dancing to reggae music? Is this Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan’s idea of a mournful vigil? A traditional Thanksgiving? No, it’s a brief crack in the mainstream media’s coverage of Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan. Oops, sorry about that folks, don’t expect to hear more about it, or about her actual radically leftist views. Now, back to the story.

    As in August, when she galvanized attention and made headlines for days with similar protests, there were songs and speeches and demonstrators holding signs reading “Bring the Troops Home” near the main entrance of the 1,600-acre ranch where Bush has been vacationing since Tuesday.

    Unlike then, when hundreds came from all over the country for major events at the two campsites named after Sheehan’s son, who was killed in Iraq, Sheehan found herself addressing a crowd of only about 100 Saturday afternoon. The large tent where supporters had erected a stage hung with the banner “Speak Truth to Power” was only partially full. In the morning Sheehan signed copies of her new book, being published this week, for an even smaller crowd.

    Regarding that sparsely-attended book signing, Jawsblog looks at a picture similar to the one accompanying the WaPo piece and reminds us of a time-tested business axiom.

    Meanwhile, turn out the lights, the party’s over … for now.

    Dozens of war protesters packed up their tents and left their campsite in a field near President Bush’s ranch Sunday, vowing to return during Easter for a third vigil if U.S. troops are still in Iraq.

    The weeklong protest, which coincided with Bush’s Thanksgiving holiday visit to his ranch, drew about 200 people. It was a continuation of the August demonstration led by California mother Cindy Sheehan, whose son Casey died in Iraq last year during combat.

    […]

    Before leaving town Sunday, the group of about 50 war protesters held an interfaith service at the Crawford Peace House.

    They also planted a tree at their campsite, a private lot about a mile from Bush’s ranch. The landowner who let demonstrators use the property the last few weeks of the August vigil has leased it to them through next year. Before last week’s protest, the group had water and electricity installed.

    “We’re here for the long haul. As long as this country is at war with Iraq, we’ll be here to oppose it,” said Hadi Jawad, a co-founder of the Crawford Peace House, which opened a month after the war began in March 2003. “I think Crawford has become a point of pilgrimage to a lot of people. This has become hallowed ground.”

    Hmmm … I’ve been to Crawford, and it ain’t hollowed ground. Not even if one adds a silly sculpture and calls it a monument. For hallowed ground, I would instead offer the site where Casey Sheehan raised his right hand and volunteered for our country’s military. Or perhaps the site where he chose to re-enlist, again vowing to support his nation. Or perhaps the site where he fell, giving all in service to his nation and his comrades in a manner he rightly held noble.

    I am curious about the financing of that water and electricity installation. Any chance we could get some names there?

    Perhaps upon Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan’s return to Crawford in Easter, we can actually get media coverage of the woman herself? Maybe some video of the mournful Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan dancing to reggae during the traditional egg roll? Maybe an inciteful look at her controversial quotes that have pretty much gone uncovered outside the blogosphere? Nah, that would take reporting.

    During her autumn stunts, I blogged that Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan was fighting tooth and nail for an addition to her fifteen minutes of fame. In a comment on my post about the silly monument, Phil pegged her as currently being at about her nineteenth minute. The woman is addicted to attention, as demonstrated by her jealousy of hurricane coverage, and will not wait until Easter. I only fear how low Gold Star mom Cindy Sheehan will stoop to be in front of cameras in the meantime.

  • Court of Public Opinion has Saddam’s Fate Set

    From the mouths of Baghdad:

    Most residents of Iraq’s biggest city don’t mince words when it comes to their former leader.

    The trial of Saddam Hussein and seven of his associates — charged with killing more than 150 residents of the northern city of Dujail in 1982 — is scheduled to resume Monday.

    A random sampling of Iraqis in and around the capital, a city that still bears numerous relics from Saddam’s 24-year rule, were asked what message they would like to give to the former dictator, if given the chance.

    “I hope I see you in hell,” said tomato seller Radi Abd al-Hussein, 30, a Baghdad resident who has sold vegetables at an east Baghdad marketplace for five years.

    “I want to cut his head off,” he elaborated, through a translator. “He’s a tyrant. He hurt all of the Iraqi people. All of us. In times before, we couldn’t stand here and do what we want.”

    Go read for other choice quotes.

    In related stories, Saddam’s trial is set to resume as an alleged plot to kill the chief judge is foiled.

  • Quote of the Week, 27 NOV 05

    I am convinced that the best service a retired general can perform is to turn in his tongue along with his suit and to mothball his opinion.

    —General Omar Bradley

  • India calls for scrutiny of AQ Khan network

    Not a bad idea here, but perhaps it’s more of a case of proposing shutting the barn door after the animals have taken to the hills.

    India has demanded a scrutiny of the “Pakistan-based AQ Khan network” for greater transparency in non-proliferation.

    In his statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Saturday, India’s permanent representative Dr Sheel Kant Sharma called for “greater clarity” regarding clandestine proliferation activities. He singled out the AQ Khan nuclear proliferation network, saying that Pakistan needed to shed greater light on its activities.

    “Greater clarity and transparency in this area will serve the objectives of non-proliferation, to which we are all committed,” the Indian representative said. “This would also enhance the IAEA’s credibility.” India also expressed “happiness and relief” that Iran’s controversial nuclear programme was not put to a vote for referral to the UN Security Council at the IAEA meeting. “We are extremely happy and relieved that there was no vote,” a senior Indian official said. The meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors — of which India is a member — even refrained from passing a fresh resolution on Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran claims that its programme is for peaceful purposes, but the US and Europe suspect that it is aimed at building nuclear weapons.

    At the nuclear watchdog’s last meeting in September, India had surprisingly sided with the West on a resolution criticising Iran’s nuclear activities and threatening referral to the UN Security Council. India’s vote had caused an uproar in the country, with both government allies and opposition criticising it. The left-wing parties, whose 60 seats in parliament provide crucial support to the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), had vowed to oppose a fresh Indian vote against Iran.

    External Affairs Ministry officials claimed that the outcome was the result of a diplomatic campaign launched by India with some other countries, including the US, several European nations, Russia and China. “It has kept the door open for resolving the issue between Iran and the EU-3 through negotiations,” a Foreign Ministry official said.

    Indian officials said that the West had the numbers on the 35-member IAEA board to refer the issue to the Security Council, but the “divisive” move would have created fresh tensions in the already-volatile region.

    Negotiations between the EU-3 — Britain, France and Germany — and Iran are scheduled to begin early next month. All key players are now discussing a proposal that allows Iran’s enrichment programme to be outsourced to Russia. Tehran has so far opposed this. “Every country has a public position on the issue. However, it remains to be seen how willing they are to be flexible to find a solution,” the Indian official said.

    And, just because I can: Khan!!!