By Steven T. Jones
Mayor Gavin Newsom may be unwilling to appear in person before the Board of Supervisors, but he’s using his trip to the World Economic Forum to reach out to citizens of the virtual world Second Life. The cyber-Gavin gave a long but not terribly illuminating interview, although he did joke that we now have a virtual mayor “just in case the public gets fed up with the real me.” I listened for some of the “new ideas” he claimed he would bring back from the Swiss Alps, but instead it sounded like he developed some new sympathies for poor, misunderstood corporate titans, such as the oil executive who wants to save the world for his children. How touching.
SFBG Blogs
Virtual Newsom
Matt Smith hates San Francisco
By Tim Redmond
That’s the only conclusion I could reach after reading this piece of garbage that was until recently sitting high on the front page of the SF Weekly website.
It’s fine for journalists to be cynical. It’s fine to challenge the conventional wisdom. But all I got from this piece — and frankly, all I get a lot of the time from Matt Smith — is how much San Francisco sucks, how lame all of us who love this city are, how stupid local politics is, and how nobody who is a part of the fabric of this town is anything but a witless moron who can’t possibly live up to Mr. Smith’s standards.
Matt: Why do you live here?
The Guardian cost of Iraq war report (1/26/07): $361 billion for the U.S., $45 billion for California and $1 billion for San Francisco.
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Here is a running total of the cost of the Iraq War to the U.S. taxpayer, provided by the National Priorities Project located in Northampton, Massachusetts. The number is based on Congressional appropriations. Niko Matsakis of Boston, MA and Elias Vlanton of Takoma Park, MD originally created the count in 2003 on costofwar.com. After maintaining it on their own for the first year, they gave it to the National Priorities Project to contribute to their ongoing educational efforts.
Cost of the War in Iraq
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To bring the cost of the war home, please note that California has already lost $45 billion and San Francisco has lost $1 billion to the Bush war and his mistakes. In San Francisco alone, the funds used for the war in Iraq could have hired 21,095 additional public school teachers for one year, we could have built 10,960 additional housing units or we could have provided 59,011 students four-year scholarships at public universities. For a further breakdown of the cost of the war to your community, see the NPP website aptly titled “turning data into action.”
The Guardian Iraq War casualty report (1/26/07): 15 Iraqi civilians killed
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Casualties in Iraq
Iraqi civilians:
15 Iraqi civilians were killed today when a bomb went off at a crowded animal market in Baghdad today, according to the Associated Press.
Source: http://www.thestar.com/News/article/175356
98,000: Killed since 3/03
Source: www.thelancet.com
54,432 – 60,098: Killed since 1/03
For a week by week assessment of significant incidents and trends in Iraqi civilian casualties, go to A Week in Iraq by Lily Hamourtziadou. She is a member of the Iraq Body Count project, which maintains and updates the world’s only independent and comprehensive public database of media-reported civilian deaths in Iraq.
Source: http://www.iraqbodycount.net
A Week in Iraq: Week ending 21 January 2007: http://www.iraqbodycount.org/editorial/weekiniraq/27/
For first hand accounts of the grave situation in Iraq, visit some of these blogs:
www.ejectiraqikkk.blogspot.com
www.riverbendblog.blogspot.com
www.healingiraq.blogspot.com
www.afamilyinbaghdad.blogspot.com
U.S. military:
3,284: Killed since the U.S. invasion of Iraq 3/20/03
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
Here are the names of some of the soldiers that were killed this week in Iraq, according to the New York Times:
BROWN, Nicholas P., 24, Specialist, Army; Huber Heights, Ohio; First Cavalry Division.
HILL, Ryan J., 20, Pfc., Army; Keizer, Ore.; First Infantry Division.
JOHNSTON, Gary S., 21, Sgt., Marines; Windthorst, Tex.; Third Marine Expeditionary Force.
KASHKOUSH, Michael M., 24, Sgt., Marines; Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Third Marine Expeditionary Force.
KINGMAN, Jonathan P. C., 21, Sgt., Army; Nankin, Ohio; First Infantry Division.
MATUS, Andrew G., 19, Lance Cpl., Marines; Chetek, Wis.; First Marine Expeditionary Force.
STOUT, Brandon L., 23, Specialist, Army National Guard; Grand Rapids, Mich.; 46th Military Police Company.
WIGGINS, Michael J., 26, Staff Sgt., Army; Cleveland; 79th Explosive Ordnance Disposal Battalion.
WILSON, Jamie D., 34, Staff Sgt., Army; San Diego; 25th Infantry
Division.
Here are some additional names of soldiers killed this week, according to CNN.com:
Sgt. 1st Class Keith A. Callahan, 31, of McClure, Pennsylvania, 2nd Battalion, 325th Airborne Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division.
Staff Sgt. Hector Leija, 27, of Houston, Texas, 1st Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division (Stryker Brigade Combat Team)
For the Department of Defense statistics go to: http://www.defenselink.mil/
For a more detailed list of U.S. Military killed in the War in Iraq go to:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2007.01.html
Iraq Military:
30,000: Killed since 2003
Source:http://www.infoshout.com
Journalists:
151: Killed since 3/03
Source: http://www.infoshout.com/
Refugees:
1.6 million: Iraqis displaced internally
1.8 million: Iraqis displaced to neighboring states
Many refugees were displaced prior to 2003, but an increasing number are fleeing now, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ estimates.
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html
U.S. Military Wounded:
47,657: Wounded since 3/19/03 to 1/6/07
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
NOISE: Waits’s cheap shite serenaders
Hey, who let the raindogs out? Revere that downtown trainwreck of a songwriting god? Bow down before all beery minstrels’ household saint? You love Tom Waits – ‘fess up.
You’re not alone – 21 Grand has found a way to freshen up the ole bandito’s catalog with “Everything’s a Dollar in This Box: The Songs of Tom Waits on cheap instruments” featuring 5 Cent Coffee, Stella!, Salty Walt & the Rattlin Rattlins, Dogs in Doublets, and more bad puns than you can shake a gin bottle at.
It’s happening Saturday, Jan. 27, 8:30 p.m. at 21 Grand, 416 25th St. (at Broadway), Oakl. $6-$10. (510) 444-7263. Be there or be under the table in a deep drunk – or better, be both.
Will the real Peter Ragone please stand up?
By Steven T. Jones
The scrappy political blog SFist has consistently, insightfully, and with an infectious sense of voyeuristic glee been dogging Mayor Gavin Newsom and his many missteps of the last year, becoming a go-to site for local political junkies. As such, Newsom’s prickly press secretary Peter Ragone and a few other Gavin supporters have taken to posting comments defending their guy.
Well, now it seems the SFist has caught Ragone apparently pretending to be a John Nelson, posting comments slamming SFist and slobbering all over Newsom. Like the SFist, I called Ragone’s numbers trying to get a comment and/or confirmation, but was unsuccessful.
What the hell is going on in the mayor’s office? Has their bunker mentality completely overwhelmed their sense of ethics, accountability to the public, and service to the city? Personally, I’m going to redouble my efforts to dog the mayor and put some hard questions to him — as soon as he gets back from skiing in Switzerland with his girlfriend.
Burning Man vs. Straw Man
By Steven T. Jones
I was glad to see both the Chronicle and SF Weekly this week give some ink to the story I wrote last week on the lawsuits among the three founders of Burning Man. Or at least I would be happy if the Weekly’s Matt Smith was such a sneering, bitter, deceptive tool. I’ve never understood the disdain Smith has for San Francisco or why he’d want to live somewhere he so abhors. And I’ve never been terribly impressed with his skills or integrity as a journalist. But it was still surprising to see him reduce Burning Man to a cult worshipping Larry Harvey (half the people who go have never heard of Harvey, and most of the other half still goes in spite of him rather than out of some vague sense of reverence), although it was certainly convenient to the ridiculously illogical straw man argument that he makes (although I’m still baffled with his conclusion of trying to equate Cachophony Society culture jamming with opening the Burning Man name and icons up to corporate exploitation). And just to destroy any last shred of credibility and respectability that Smith might have retained, he had to equate Black Rock City with Nazi Germany, lying about the event’s supposed columned boulevards to make this ludicrous point. Puh-leeze.
More carnage at SF Weekly’s sister papers
By Tim Redmond
Damn, I’d sworn off going after New Times/Village Voice Media, the parent company of SF Weekly, for at least a few days, but shit keeps happening.
Will Swaim, the editor of the OC Weekly, which was one of the papers absorbed when New Times took over the Village Voice, has resigned, citing “philosophical differences” with management. That was inevitable, but it sucks: Swaim is a good guy, a good editor and ran a good paper.
And the editor at the Minneapolis City Paper (ditto, formerly a Village Voice paper) resigned under pressure and was quickly replaced. Why? Here’s what the Star-Tribune says:
“I’m not sure anyone was surprised that it happened, only that it took so long,” said David Brauer, a media analyst for Minnesota Public Radio who once wrote for City Pages. “Village Voice/New Times is known for being aggressively apolitical or libertarian. Steve, although he had a pox on both Democrats and Republicans, was mostly a lefty radical guy.”
So the dismantling of the progressive papers that used to be part of the Village Voice franchise continues.
Transfer: Over?
Well, flip-and-skip realtor Greg Bronstein’s done it again — but this time he’s fucked with the wrong peeps. I got word on Sunday that he’d sold the Transfer — out from under the noses of the staff. Nightlife mogul wannabe Bronstein and his horridly named organization, Flavors You Crave (gag), also owns Lime, Bar on Castro, Crave, Jet and probably a million other places as well — and he’s known for selling things at a moments notice. Sell those! Close those! He sold Castro restaurant Blue, Sneaky Tiki shut down within moments of opening, and Bronstein came really close to pissing me off when he bought and sold Hush Hush in turnaround fashion, effectively closing it down for good. But the Transfer, under fab and canny manager Shawn Vergara, has become ground zero for nonpretentious party people in just one year — and was going strong. Most of the party promoters working with the Transfer have said they’ll jump ship with out Vergara at the helm. No word what the new owners intend yet, but we’ll be following the story closely, marke my words …
Better days?
The Guardian Iraq War casualty report (1/25/07): 26 Iraqi civilians killed
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Casualties in Iraq
Iraqi civilians:
26 Iraqi Civilians were killed today in Karradah, Iraq when a suicide car bomb was detonated in a marketplace, according to the Associated Press.
Source: http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/4500170.html
98,000: Killed since 3/03
Source: www.thelancet.com
54,432 – 60,098: Killed since 1/03
For a week by week assessment of significant incidents and trends in Iraqi civilian casualties, go to A Week in Iraq by Lily Hamourtziadou. She is a member of the Iraq Body Count project, which maintains and updates the world’s only independent and comprehensive public database of media-reported civilian deaths in Iraq.
Source: http://www.iraqbodycount.net
A Week in Iraq: Week ending 21 January 2007: http://www.iraqbodycount.org/editorial/weekiniraq/27/
U.S. military:
29: Killed this weekend (1/19/07- 1/21/07):
2: Killed 1/19/07; 25: Killed 1/20/07; 2: Killed 1/21/07
3,284: Killed since the U.S. invasion of Iraq 3/20/03
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
The weekend death toll of 27, with 25 deaths on Saturday, made Saturday the third-deadliest day for U.S. forces since the war began, according to the New York Times.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/world/middleeast/22iraq.html?ref=middleeast
Here are the names of the soldiers killed on Saturday, January 20, 2007:
Four soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee in Karma, Iraq, according to CNN.com:
Spc. Jeffrey D. Bisson, 22, of Vista, California, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Sgt. Sean P. Fennerty, 25, of Corvallis, Oregon, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Sgt. Phillip D. McNeil, 22, of Sunrise, Florida, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Spc. Toby R. Olsen, 28, of Manchester, New Hampshire, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Five soldiers were killed while repelling an attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, Iraq, according to CNN.com:
Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Gonzales, Louisiana, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, New York, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve.
1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Three soldiers were killed in three separate incidents, according to CNN.com:
Lance Cpl. Luis J. Castillo, 20, of Lawton, Michigan, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve.
Pfc. Ryan J. Hill, 20, of Keizer, Oregon, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
Pfc. Allen B. Jaynes, 21, of Henderson, Texas, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
Twelve soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Jan. 20, when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter they were in crashed, according to the Department of Defense.
Col. Brian D. Allgood, 46, of Oklahoma, who was assigned to the 30th Medical Brigade, European Regional Medical Command, Heidelberg, Germany.
Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, 37, of Midlothian, Va., who was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, Virginia Army National Guard, Sandston, Va.
Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, 43, of Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, 50, of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, who was assigned to the Virgin Islands Army National Guard, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Iowa, who was assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa Army National Guard, Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa.
Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, 49, of Davidsonville, Md., who was assigned to the 70th Regiment, Regional Training Institute – Maryland, Maryland Army National Guard, Reisterstown, Md.
Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, of Stafford, Va., who was assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters of the Virginia Army National Guard in Blackstone, Va.
Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, 43, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, who was assigned to the Virgin Islands Army National Guard, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, 29, of Decatur, Ga., who was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, 31, of Pflugerville, Texas., who was assigned to the Texas Army National Guard’s 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division, Austin, Texas.
Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 40, of North Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
1st Sgt. William T. Warren, 48, of North Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
For the Department of Defense statistics go to: http://www.defenselink.mil/
For a more detailed list of U.S. Military killed in the War in Iraq go to:
http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2007.01.html
Iraq Military:
30,000: Killed since 2003
Source:http://www.infoshout.com
Journalists:
94: Killed since 3/03
Source: www.cpj.org
Refugees:
1.6 million: Iraqis displaced internally
1.8 million: Iraqis displaced to neighboring states
Many refugees were displaced prior to 2003, but an increasing number are fleeing now, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ estimates.
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html
U.S. Military Wounded:
47,657: Wounded since 3/19/03 to 1/6/07
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
The Guardian cost of Iraq war report (1/25/07): $361 billion for the U.S., $45 billion for California and $1 billion for San Francisco.
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Here is a running total of the cost of the Iraq War to the U.S. taxpayer, provided by the National Priorities Project located in Northampton, Massachusetts. The number is based on Congressional appropriations. Niko Matsakis of Boston, MA and Elias Vlanton of Takoma Park, MD originally created the count in 2003 on costofwar.com. After maintaining it on their own for the first year, they gave it to the National Priorities Project to contribute to their ongoing educational efforts.
Cost of the War in Iraq
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To bring the cost of the war home, please note that California has already lost $45 billion and San Francisco has lost $1 billion to the Bush war and his mistakes. In San Francisco alone, the funds used for the war in Iraq could have hired 21,095 additional public school teachers for one year, we could have built 10,960 additional housing units or we could have provided 59,011 students four-year scholarships at public universities. For a further breakdown of the cost of the war to your community, see the NPP website aptly titled “turning data into action.”
The media blows a media story
By Tim Redmond
The Bay Guardian and Media Alliance have succeeded in getting about 90 percent of the previously secret records in the Clint Reilly media consolidation case opened to public review.
But you wouldn’t know that from reading the news stories in the monopoly dailies that the suit challenges.
In fact, the press coverage of Judge Illston’s ruling shows very neatly how media consolidation and a lack of competition throttle public access to the news.
None of the local dailies (all of them owned by big chains involved in this case) got the story remotely right. The Chronicle’s Bob Egelko, who is normally a decent legal reporter, reported only that Judge Illston had ordered the release of “some MediaNews Group records” but “allowed MediaNews and the Hearst Corp., owner of The Chronicle, to protect most of the documents they had sought to keep sealed.” The seven-paragraph story ignored the main point: When we filed the motion in court to unseal the records, the newspaper barons immediately agreed to make the bulk of the material public. There are thousands and thousands of pages of legal material filed in the case so far, and the publishers didn’t even contest our contention that most of it should never have been sealed in the first place.
“MediaNews Group and Hearst were asked by Media Alliance and the Guardian before they intervened to unseal everything. They declined to unseal anything,” said Jim Wheaton, attorney for the First Amendment Project, which represented us. “But as soon as Media Alliance and the Guardian moved to intervene and unseal, MediaNews and Hearst surrendered on almost all the sealed documents. They fought only to keep some parts of five exhibits and one brief sealed, which comprised 19 separate excerpts (of which six were duplicates, leaving only 13 distinct items).
There’s a lot of legal gobbledegook here, but for the record, here’s how Wheaton explains it:
The following documents were originally filed under seal, in their totality (with court docket numbers):
o Motion for Temporary Restraining Order (“TRO”) and Order to Show Cause (“OSC”) (#70)
o Declaration of Daniel Shulman (#70)
o Memorandum in Support of (“ISO”) Plaintiff’s Motion for TRO and OSC (#71)
o Declaration of Daniel R. Shulman ISO Plaintiff’s Motion for TRO and OSC, including all exhibits thereto. (#72)
o Reply Memorandum ISO Motion for TRO and OSC (#88)
o Supplemental Declaration of Daniel R. Shulman ISO Motion for TRO and OSC including all exhibits thereto (#89)
o Memorandum ISO Motion for Preliminary Injunction (“PI”) (#91)
o Second Supplemental Declaration of Daniel R. Shulman ISO Plaintiff’s Motion for PI, and all exhibits thereto (#91)
o Plaintiff’s Supplemental Memorandum ISO Motion for PI (#96)
o Second Supplemental Declaration of Daniel R. Shulman, including all exhibits thereto (#97)
o Third Supplemental Declaration of Daniel R. Shulman ISO plaintiff’s motion for PI, including all exhibits thereto (#108)
o All 34 exhibits attached to the various Shulman declarations (#s 70, 72, 89, 91, 97, 108)
o Declaration of James M. Asher in Response to OSC Regarding Application for PI and three Exhibits thereto (# 102) (These are all duplicates of other items already filed under seal.)
She has ordered ALL of that unsealed, except for:
o part of two pages from Reilly’s Reply Memorandum ISO of the TRO (#88)
o portions only of just six of the 34 exhibits attached to the Shulman declarations (and their duplicates in Asher’s declaration); the declarations themselves were completely unsealed
Everything else was unsealed. All parts of all the memoranda, all the declarations, and all the other exhibits were unsealed.
Also – and this is key – Illston gave the Guardian and Media Alliance the right to remain legal interveners for the duration of the case, giving us standing to immediately seek the release of any future documents filed under seal.
In one of the nastier little twists to this story, Egelko referred only to “a media group and a weekly newspaper” without ever mentioning Media Alliance or the Bay Guardian.
I send Egelko an email, and he said the reference to the Guardian was cut for space.
The Contra Costa Times ran an Associated Press story by David Kravets that was even worse. The headline: “Judge denies request to unseal MediaNews, Hearst suit papers.” The summary: Illston denied almost everything the Guardian and Media Alliance wanted.
The San Jose Mercury News ran four paragraphs of the same AP story.
That story was, as I’ve pointed out above, utterly inaccurate, embarrassingly so. I called Kravets and asked what had happened, and he acknowledged that he had left out the background – the fact that the media barons, in response to our case, had agreed to unseal most of the records. “I plead guilty to leaving out the background,” he said.
Wheaton is contacting AP and the Chron to seek corrections; we’ll let you know.
In the meantime, think about what happened here: The Times and the Merc, both owned by Dean Singleton’s MediaNews Group, run the exact same inaccurate AP story on a major media case involving their parent companies. The Chron, which is supposedly their competitor, runs its own inaccurate story. None of these people (representing the free press of Northern California) are acting like competitors, and none of them give any support or credit to a major effort at opening up the federal courts.
Welcome to the monopoly media world of the Bay Area, 2007.
The Guardian Iraq War casualty report (1/24/07): 5 American Civilians killed
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Casualties in Iraq
U.S. military:
Five American contractors working for Blackwater private security firm were killed Tuesday (1/23/07) when their helicopters were attacked in Baghdad, according to the New York Times.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/24/world/middleeast/24iraq.html
29: Killed this weekend (1/19/07- 1/21/07):
2: Killed 1/19/07; 25: Killed 1/20/07; 2: Killed 1/21/07
3,284: Killed since the U.S. invasion of Iraq 3/20/03
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
The weekend death toll of 27, with 25 deaths on Saturday, made Saturday the third-deadliest day for U.S. forces since the war began, according to the New York Times.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/01/22/world/middleeast/22iraq.html?ref=middleeast
Here are the names of the soldiers killed on Saturday, January 20, 2007:
Four soldiers were killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee in Karma, Iraq, according to CNN.com:
Spc. Jeffrey D. Bisson, 22, of Vista, California, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Sgt. Sean P. Fennerty, 25, of Corvallis, Oregon, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Sgt. Phillip D. McNeil, 22, of Sunrise, Florida, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Spc. Toby R. Olsen, 28, of Manchester, New Hampshire, 3rd Battalion, 509th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Five soldiers were killed while repelling an attack on the Provincial Joint Coordination Center in Karbala, Iraq, according to CNN.com:
Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of Gonzales, Louisiana, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, New York, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California, 412th Civil Affairs Battalion, Army Reserve.
1st Lt. Jacob N. Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Pvt. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama, 2nd Battalion, 377th Parachute Field Artillery Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division.
Three soldiers were killed in three separate incidents, according to CNN.com:
Lance Cpl. Luis J. Castillo, 20, of Lawton, Michigan, 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve.
Pfc. Ryan J. Hill, 20, of Keizer, Oregon, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division.
Pfc. Allen B. Jaynes, 21, of Henderson, Texas, 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division.
Twelve soldiers were killed in Baghdad on Jan. 20, when the UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter they were in crashed, according to the Department of Defense.
Col. Brian D. Allgood, 46, of Oklahoma, who was assigned to the 30th Medical Brigade, European Regional Medical Command, Heidelberg, Germany.
Staff Sgt. Darryl D. Booker, 37, of Midlothian, Va., who was assigned to the 29th Infantry Division, Virginia Army National Guard, Sandston, Va.
Sgt. 1st Class John G. Brown, 43, of Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
Lt. Col. David C. Canegata, 50, of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands, who was assigned to the Virgin Islands Army National Guard, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Command Sgt. Maj. Marilyn L. Gabbard, 46, of Polk City, Iowa, who was assigned to Joint Forces Headquarters, Iowa Army National Guard, Camp Dodge, Johnston, Iowa.
Command Sgt. Maj. Roger W. Haller, 49, of Davidsonville, Md., who was assigned to the 70th Regiment, Regional Training Institute – Maryland, Maryland Army National Guard, Reisterstown, Md.
Col. Paul M. Kelly, 45, of Stafford, Va., who was assigned to the Joint Force Headquarters of the Virginia Army National Guard in Blackstone, Va.
Staff Sgt. Floyd E. Lake, 43, of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, who was assigned to the Virgin Islands Army National Guard, Christiansted, U.S. Virgin Islands.
Cpl. Victor M. Langarica, 29, of Decatur, Ga., who was assigned to the 86th Signal Battalion, Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Capt. Sean E. Lyerly, 31, of Pflugerville, Texas., who was assigned to the Texas Army National Guard’s 36th Combat Aviation Brigade, 36th Infantry Division, Austin, Texas.
Maj. Michael V. Taylor, 40, of North Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
1st Sgt. William T. Warren, 48, of North Little Rock, Ark., who was assigned to the Arkansas Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 185th Aviation Regiment (Air Assault), 77th Aviation Brigade, Camp Robinson, Ark.
For the Department of Defense statistics go to: http://www.defenselink.mil/
For a more detailed list of U.S. Military killed in the War in Iraq go to: http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2003/iraq/forces/casualties/2007.01.html
Iraqi civilians:
98,000: Killed since 3/03
Source: www.thelancet.com
54,432 – 60,098: Killed since 1/03
For a week by week assessment of significant incidents and trends in Iraqi civilian casualties, go to A Week in Iraq by Lily Hamourtziadou. She is a member of the Iraq Body Count project, which maintains and updates the world’s only independent and comprehensive public database of media-reported civilian deaths in Iraq.
Source: http://www.iraqbodycount.net
A Week in Iraq: Week ending 21 January 2007: http://www.iraqbodycount.org/editorial/weekiniraq/27/
Iraq Military:
30,000: Killed since 2003
Source:http://www.infoshout.com
Journalists:
146: Killed since 3/03
Source: www.rsf.org
Refugees:
1.6 million: Iraqis displaced internally
1.8 million: Iraqis displaced to neighboring states
Many refugees were displaced prior to 2003, but an increasing number are fleeing now, according to United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ estimates.
Source: http://www.unhcr.org/iraq.html
U.S. Military Wounded:
47,657: Wounded since 3/19/03 to 1/6/07
Source: http://www.icasualties.org/
Fun with whistleblowers!
By G.W. Schulz
Every six months or so, the San Francisco Controller’s Office releases a summary of the numerous whistleblower complaints it receives from citizens and municipal employees alike.
No names are attached, unfortunately. And attempts by the Guardian in the past to obtain details of the complaints and resulting investigations through sunshine requests were rebuffed by the controller. Ed Harrington’s office argued that publicity might inhibit potential whistleblowers from stepping forward.
But for now, at least, we’ve got a good idea of which city and county offices are housing ill-behaved employees and what’s been done to stop them.
The Guardian cost of Iraq war report (1/24/07): $360 billion for the U.S., $45 billion for California and $1 billion for San Francisco.
Compiled by Paula Connelly
Here is a running total of the cost of the Iraq War to the U.S. taxpayer, provided by the National Priorities Project located in Northampton, Massachusetts. The number is based on Congressional appropriations. Niko Matsakis of Boston, MA and Elias Vlanton of Takoma Park, MD originally created the count in 2003 on costofwar.com. After maintaining it on their own for the first year, they gave it to the National Priorities Project to contribute to their ongoing educational efforts.
Cost of the War in Iraq
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To bring the cost of the war home, please note that California has already lost $45 billion and San Francisco has lost $1 billion to the Bush war and his mistakes. In San Francisco alone, the funds used for the war in Iraq could have hired 21,095 additional public school teachers for one year, we could have built 10,960 additional housing units or we could have provided 59,011 students four-year scholarships at public universities. For a further breakdown of the cost of the war to your community, see the NPP website aptly titled “turning data into action.”
NOISE: Mano y Germano
The cultie fervor surrounding ex-John Mellencamp fiddle player Lisa Germano at South By Southwest last year was a thing to behold. Toss those Mellencamp associations aside – her songs were lovely that night. And it’s gravy that she has such a deliciously gruesome/goth sensibility as well – check out the cover art for her most recent album, In the Maybe World (Young God), below.
She opens for soundtrack composer Michael Brook (whose last CD she performed on; she plays in his group tonight, too) Friday, Jan. 26, at Great American Music Hall. Caw, caw.
Webb for president!
By Steven T. Jones
Even with Democrats retaking Congress and making tentative moves for economic justice and against this disastrous war, political communications have been less than inspiring these days. And President George W. Bush’s State of the Union speech last night was a sad and dismal nadir to his sad and dismal presidency. Yet we still had to endure standing ovations that included Democrats for all his dreary non-points and poll-tested platitudes. Ugh, it was almost enough to make a political junkie want to kick the habit.
Then, Jim Webb spoke.
Holy Democratic revival, Batman, this was a knockout! I’ve never seen the opposition party response so thoroughly outshine a State of the Union speech, with all the pagaentry they entail. Webb, a military man turned junior senator from Virginia, eloquently and forcefully drove home the economic justice and anti-war points that most Ameircans believe in, but which Democrats have generally been too timid to really bring. But Webb brought it!
Sadly, his speech was followed by tepid, throwaway remarks from Democratic presidential hopefuls Barrack Obama and Hillary Clinton, although Bill Richardson was a bit better. Yet Webb has now set the gold standard for how Democrats should be talking. Either the other contenders will take the cue and start aggressively speakng truth to power, or we’re likely to see a serious grassroots effort to get Webb to run. Progressives aren’t going to have a lot of patience for ending this ill-conceived war and reversing the ruling class’ exploitation of the masses — which were the two main subjects of Webb’s speech. Democrats have their moment, and if Pelosi — who has said impeachment is off the table — doesn’t forcefully challenge this imperial presidency with everything she has, it looks like we have a new kid of the block who will.
Sean is Queen ‘til February
by Sarah Phelan
Today was the first official Question Time at City Hall and, since Mayor Gavin Newsom was not in town, being tied up, among other things, at economic forums in Switzerland, Board Chair Aaron Peskin asked Sup. Sean Elsbernd, who Newsom has appointed as Acting Mayor in his absence. if he wanted to address the policy questions, instead.
“I’m not sure how hard I should laugh right now,” sputtered Elsbernd. “If we took this logically, I could stand up here and have a conversation with myself.”
“Most substitute mayors don’t exercise the full mayoral powers,” interjected Sup. Chris Daly. “Though there are some notable exceptions,” he added. Daly was of course referring to his own October 2003 surprise, in which he
Guess How many hotel rooms there are in SF?
BY Sarah Phelan
10,000? 30,000? 100,000?
If you guessed 32, 952 rooms, you’re correct–and must be digesting the same economic reports that I’ve been calling bedtime reading this week.
According to a report fresh out of the Controller’s office, the lowest point, in terms of filling all those rooms, was the winter of 2001-2002, when 50 percent were vacant. (Remember, that was the grim post 9/11 moment, when people were afraid to fly to the USA, in case they ended up being flown into a hotel high-rise, instead of staying in one.)
The highest point? June 2000, the height of the dot-com boom, when occupancy peaked at 91.7 percent.
“These numbers suggest that it is practically impossible for a visitor to be able to find a room in the City on any given day of any given month,” the report observes, the kind of observation that just begs to be contradicted…
Guess how many hotel rooms there are in SF?
By Sarah Phelan
10,000? 30,000? 100,000?
If you guessed 32, 952 rooms, you’re correct–and must be digesting the same economic reports that I’ve been calling bedtime reading this week.
According to a report fresh out of the Controller’s office, the lowest point, in terms of filling all those rooms, was the winter of 2001-2002, when 50 percent were vacant. (Remember, that was the grim post 9/11 moment, when people were afraid to fly to the USA, in case they ended up being flown into a hotel high-rise, instead of staying in one.)
The highest point? June 2000, the height of the dot-com boom, when occupancy peaked at 91.7 percent.
“These numbers suggest that it is practically impossible for a visitor to be able to find a room in the City on any given day of any given month,” the report observes, the kind of observation that just begs to be contradicted…
Maxwell to Mirant: Abandon Potrero Power Plant
by Sarah Phelan
Sup. Sophie Maxwell has introduced a resolution urging Mirant Corporation to abandon permanently its efforts to operate the Potrero Power Plant, and reaffirming the City’s commitment to closing the plant as soon as feasible, and urging all interested State and federal agencies to facilitate the closure, so the site may be developed in a manner more in harmony with surrounding neighborhoods and sound public and environmental health.
Sean is Queen ‘til February
by Sarah Phelan
Today was the first official Question Time at City Hall and, since Mayor Gavin Newsom was not in town, being tied up, among other things, at economic forums in Switzerland, Board Chair Aaron Peskin asked Sup. Sean Elsbernd, who Newsom has appointed as Acting Mayor in his absence. if he wanted to address the policy questions, instead.
“I’m not sure how hard I should laugh right now,” sputtered Elsbernd. “If we took this logically, I could stand up here and have a conversation with myself.”
“Most substitute mayors don’t exercise the full mayoral powers,” interjected Sup. Chris Daly. “Though there are some notable exceptions,” he added. Daly was of course referring to his own October 2003 surprise, in which he
The SOTU response
By Tim Redmond
–It says a lot about the state of the media when Sen. Dick Durbin decides that instead of doing TV interviews, he’ll respond to the speech by blogging on DailyKos. Complete with some really dopey pictures. (Look, look, here I am, blogging! I may be a U.S. Senator but I can actually type on a computer, like the real people! I’m a blogger! Whoo Hah!)
–Chris Matthews argues that Jim Webb’s response is the strongest Democratic response to a GOP State of the Union speech since Ed Muskie responded to Nixon in 1970. That’s a strong statement, but it’s pretty clear that Webb was the right guy for this job: He pointedly noted that he, and his brother, and his son, had all served in active duty in the Marines (unlike Bush), and that leaders who send troops to war have a responsibility to make honest judgements.
–CNN says that Bush is already a lame duck Duh.