Updates on Ministry of Education Kidnapping

This is I listened to Morning Edition, with Renee Montaigne. Her guest was Solomon Moore of the Los Angeles Times. I strongly suggest you visit this link and read his article "Uniformed men kidnap scores in Iraqi sapitol. You can listen to the interview on the Morning Edition website

It really is a mystery! Officials are not really sure how many people were kidnapped, and the latest figures say around 50 may have been kidnapped and 37 have been released. Sunni, Kurds and Christians were taken, but we don't know who kidnapped them or why.

To avoid cordons, the kidnappers 17 released overnight, and 2 hostages are believed to remain.

Most interestly, 5 Iraqi police were arrested and questioned. There have been rumors that the police have been infiltrated by insurgents, and this really makes you wonder.

The sectarian divisions are really the cause of many problems. If we are ever to get peace, or at least an end to the sectarian violence, we need to find a new way of dealing with the Iraqis because the Bush Doctrine has proven to be a disaster.

100 to 150 Educators Kidnapped in Iraqi Higher Education Ministry

Sunni and Shiia educators were separated by sex and men were kidnapped by men in Iraqi Police uniforms, driving Iraqi Police vehicles. All universities in Iraq have been shut down out of fear for the safety for the educators.

According to Forbes.com

Alaa Makki, head of parliament's education committee, interrupted the body's session Tuesday morning to say that between 100 and 150 people, both Shiites and
Sunnis, had been abducted in the 9:30 a.m. raid at the ministry offices, calling
the kidnapping a "national catastrophe."

The kidnapping is the largest known of any group, although about 50 Shiites were abducted from vehicles near Latifiyah, about 20 miles south of Baghdad, on Saturday and a similar number taken from the offices of a private security company in March. Their fate remains unknown.

"It was a quick operation. It took about 10 to 15 minutes," Theyab said. "It was a four-story building and the gunmen went to the four stories." He said the gunmen had at least 20 vehicles.

Educators aren't the only targets. Sports teams, women not dressed properly, people of the wrong religious faction have all been targeted. And Bush wonders why people want the US to get out of Iraq.

It is a civil war. A civil war where Sunni and Shiia have replaced Blue and Gray.

American soldiers have tortured and taken photographs to show their pride in there work. That is a fact.

Anyone can be label a terrorist and disappeared without seeing the evidence against them and with being allowed an attorney. They can be held as long as the government wants. That is a fact.

Bush and his cabal lied to get us into Iraq, insisting it was needed because Saddam had weapons of mass destruction, not because of oil.

On November 4, 2006 Bush said:

"You can imagine a world in which these extremists and radicals got control of energy resources and then you can imagine them saying, 'We're going to pull a bunch of oil off the market to run your price of oil up unless you do the following. And the following would be along the lines of, well, 'Retreat and let us continue to expand our dark vision.' "

Except that Iraq's oil production is a fraction of Saudi Arabia's. Remember when Saddam invaded Kuwait? Take a wild guess about what Saddam was interested in?

Bush hasn't a clue. He simply has a lust for power, a desire to be the war president his father (wisely) didn't become, to be looked upon as a savior, a freedom-bringer to oppressed peoples.

Instead, he has brought darkness, death and chaos. This will be Bush's legacy.

We won! Now what?

I am not amazed that we Dems took the House, but I'm completely overjoyed that we took the Senate as well! I figured we'd get a few seats, but would still be living in fear of a red world. The 110th Congress will be sworn in on January 3, 2007. Oh, happy day for us blues! I plan on watching as much of the festivities as I can.

It wasn't only the war that was the reason for many people voting, Katrina figured quite highly, especially with African Americans. Democracy Now! has an interesting Round Table discussion titled "Who Voted and Why? A Roundtable Discussion on the Ethnic, Religious and Social Makeup of Voters in the Elections" . You can either listen, read the transcript or purchase the CD or Video. It's short enough to read in minutes yet contains much good information.

I do have one big question: now what do we do? Sure, Bush is the lamest of ducks, Rumsfeld is gone, but that doesn't mean it's going to be all champaigne and roses. Bush doesn't even like to believe Democrats exist; after all it's his world and we just live in it. I think having a little chat with Nancy Pelosi actually made him a wee bit nervous.

It does look like he is going to be pushing his favorite cause of the moment, wiretapping Americans. Read this interesting tidbit from the New York Times.

In Washington, President Bush urged that during the lame-duck session that starts next week, Congress pass a bill effectively authorizing the program. And in San Francisco, the Justice Department told a federal court that public scrutiny of the operation risked “exceptionally grave harm to national security.”

But Democrats sounded impatient to begin getting more answers after what they characterized as 11 months of stonewalling by the administration since the program was publicly disclosed last December.

“This administration first hid its domestic spying program from Congress and Americans for years, and when it was discovered, has ducked and weaved on its legal justifications,” said Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, who is to become chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee when Democrats take control.

Go for it, Senator Leahy! I'm tired of losing my democracy. I want my country back!

The rest of the article suggests that the Bushies are going to use the "state secrets" ploy to keep from having to explain their sorry behinds to the American People.

There's a lot on the Democratic plate right now, and all I want to say to the new Congress is do your jobs, but don't forget that while Iraq is important, so is health care, education, medicare and many more issues that no one wants tossed aside. Yes, we need to investigate the crooks that have used the government for their own person gains, so tread carefully. As easy as it was to get elected this time, but no democrat wants a similar Republican win in the next election.

Hey, Dems: Get your agenda formulated, get your people behind it, and don't bicker like you did in 2004. Find a good presidential candidate, and give him or her 100% of your support early on. It would help if it wasn't Hillary, even though I really like her (not so her DLC ties). The Republicans already demonize her, even though she's tremendously popular. I want an election not a mud slinging contest.

It's going to take years to fix the mess GWB has made, and we need Democrats in the House, Senate and White House to do it.

That's enough for now folks. Keep on working for what is right!