A 2007 photograph shows a North Carolina memorial for U.S. casualties in the Iraq War. Since then, the American death toll has risen from 3883 to 4426, and classified death counts revealed by WikiLeaks put the total documented deaths from 2004 to 2009, including civilians, at 109,032.

Photo © Nils Fretwurst. Obtained under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License via Wikipedia.

Nearly 400,000 classified U.S. military documents made public today by WikiLeaks show that the United States lied about civilian death counts and made a policy of not investigating torture allegations during the Iraq War.

Major global newspapers including the New York Times, The Guardian, and Le Monde had early access to the classified material. The British Bureau for Investigative Journalism has also created a detailed website about the Iraq War Logs.

Although the Pentagon previously denied that it kept records of civilian deaths, the classified war logs document the deaths of 66,081 Iraqi civilians from 2004 to 2009, out of a total 109,032. These numbers fit estimates by the Iraq Body Count project, which the New York Times reminds us is an organization that the "Bush administration repeatedly derided as unreliable and producing inflated numbers." The Times also notes that as late as this summer, the Pentagon reported an official death count far lower than the numbers now revealed in the classified war logs.

The leaked documents also reveal that the U.S. made a policy of ignoring incidents of prisoner abuse and torture committed by Iraqi security forces. American Troops were required to report such abuse to their superiors, but military officials were not required to investigate reports of torture unless Americans had actually taken part. This led the U.S. to cover its eyes to over 1000 reports of abuse by the very Iraqi security forces that the U.S. has been backing up and training to take control of the country.

Incidents that the United States ignored included reports of "men and women blindfolded, beaten with cables, their genitals electrocuted, fingernails ripped out, sodomised with bottles and hoses" (IraqWarLogs.com) and "prisoners shackled, blindfolded and hung by wrists or ankles, and subjected to whipping, punching, kicking or electric shocks" as well as "rape and even murder" (The Guardian). Despite knowledge of this widespread torture, the United States transfered at least 9,250 detainees to Iraqi supervision as late as 2010, despite a written 2008 campaign pledge that "Barack Obama will end the use torture without exception" (PolitiFact.com). The lack of real change from the Obama Administration is not surprising given Obama's choice to maintain Bush appointee Robert Gates as Secretary of Defense.

When Britain's Bureau for Investigative Journalism sent a letter to the Pentagon asking for comment on the allegation that "the US Government handed over detainees to Iraqi authorities, knowing of concerns that torture was rife in Iraqi detention facilities," the Pentagon replied only to say:

"We strongly condemn the unauthorised disclosure of classified information and will not comment on these leaked documents other than to note that ‘significant activities’ reports are initial, raw observations by tactical units. They are essentially snapshots of events, both tragic and mundane, and do not tell the whole story. That said, the period covered by these reports has been well-chronicled in news stories, books and films and the release of these field reports does not bring new understanding to Iraq’s past." (IraqWarLogs.com)

As an American citizen, I abhor that my country has tacitly allowed these sickening human rights violations to take place by under-reporting casualties and failing to investigate clear reports of torture and abuse. I cannot and will not give my support to any politician or official who enables this disgusting degradation of human life to continue.

Because I thought, hey, why not post more leaf photos?

⬑ I. Lost in the Leaves: Arts and Crafts Wallpaper has nothing on this.

⬑ III. Oaks in the Sky: Could I climb one to meet Jack and go looking for giant's gold?

⬑ II. A Golden Canopy: It's like discovering El Dorado.

Read the rest of this entry »

Recent publicity suggests that the Pentagon is in the midst of a P.R. campaign to shape media coverage in advance of an imminently expected release of secret Iraq War documents from the whistleblower website WikiLeaks.

Founded in 2006, Wikileaks became a household name in April 2010 when it released classified video footage of U.S. troops firing unprovoked at Reuters journalists and even children from an Apache helicopter in Iraq. In July, WikiLeaks followed by publishing the Afghan War Diary, a cache of tens of thousands of reports on military incidents during the War in Afghanistan.

U.S. Military representatives criticized WikiLeaks over these releases, declaring them a security risk and even suggesting that WikiLeaks "might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family." WikiLeaks and its supporters have countered that the Pentagon certainly has blood on its hands, and that the documents may even help save lives by prompting public discussion about bringing an end to America's ongoing wars.

Now WikiLeaks is preparing to release a new and even larger set of documents pertaining to the Iraq War. The leak is widely expected this week and may come as early as today. Interestingly, the Pentagon appears to have engaged in a preemptive public relations campaign over the weekend to try and shape press coverage in advance of the release. If so, it's a fascinating example example of government media management.

Read the rest of this entry »

Autumn is the most vivid season. That's clear enough from the colors, but the visuals are just a veneer on what we actually feel. Autumn is the crisp bite in the air each October dawn. It's the smell of apple pie in the oven, the taste of sweet squash, the loud crunch of leaves crumbling underfoot. You can't experience October in Wisconsin with a photograph. You have to go out and live it. Who knows what you'll find...

The 2010 campaign season is entering its final stretch: the election is less than a month away! Are you prepared to cast an informed vote on November 2?

If you live in Wisconsin, keep reading to find links to voting information, sample ballots, and archived candidate interviews and debates. This information is scattered all over the web, but I've tried to bring it together here. With all the information at your fingertips, it's easy to make an independent choice about who to support in this election.

1. Find Out Who's on the Ballot

The Wisconsin Voter Public Access system can provide you with a complete list of the offices and candidates who will be on your local ballot this fall.

If you are already registered to vote in Wisconsin, do a Voter Search. Just enter your name and birthdate (mm/dd/yyyy) at the website and select your name from the list that appears. You'll come to a page with your registration data and the location of your polling place. Below that, you'll also see a link to "View sample ballot." Click that to learn exactly who is running for office in your part of the state.

If you are not registered to vote yet, you can do an Address Search at the Wisconsin Voter Public Access site. Based on your address, the system should be able to locate your polling place and provide a sample ballot for your area. Be patient. You might have to try a few variations on your street name before it finds a match. (Do not include any periods or punctuation in your address search).

Everyone in Wisconsin will have a chance to vote for governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, state treasurer, attorney general, and U.S. senator.

2. Not Yet Registered to Vote? Here's What to Do

If you are not registered to vote or you need to update your registration, don't fret — you can still register at your polling place on election day. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board has information on the voter registration process at its website.

3. Learn About Absentee Voting

If you're going to be away from home on November 2, you can vote by absentee ballot. The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board details the procedures and deadlines for absentee voting at its website.

4. See the Candidates Debate

Several political debates have already taken place in Wisconsin this season, and more are scheduled for the coming weeks. You could watch them live on TV, but most debates seem to take place on Friday nights — hardly anyone's favorite time to sit at home watching politicians bicker!

Thankfully, if you miss a debate when it airs live, you may still be able to find a recording online. CSPAN offers archived video streams of major political debates in Wisconsin. Alternatively, Wisconsin Public Radio offers audio-only recordings of the debates — these are perfect for downloading to your MP3 player in order to listen while walking or driving. CSPAN and WPR already have recordings of a governor's debate and two U.S. senate debates. The sites will grow to include more footage as additional debates take place.

5. Find Candidate Interviews and Independent Analysis

Beyond the debates, you can also find detailed candidate interviews and independent election analysis on-demand over the Internet. The website WisconsinVote.org has a rich archive of political programs that have aired on Wisconsin Public Television and Wisconsin Public Radio. You can get in-depth discussions, fact checks, and election news there at any time of day. You can find additional campaign fact-check reports at the We the People Wisconsin Fact Finder.

6. Stay Up to Date on Election News

Wisconsin's major newspapers including the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin State Journal have web pages dedicated to news and analysis of the 2010 Wisconsin elections.

7. Spread the Word

Please share this article or the resources I've mentioned with your friends. Together, we can ensure that Wisconsin makes an educated decision about its future this November.

8. Vote!

Remember to go to the polls and cast your vote on Tuesday, November 2! Polling places in Wisconsin will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on election day.