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Letter From The Left Coast: Modern Democracy At Work

From Zimbabwe to the San Juan Capistrano School Board, Ian Bowater observes democracy in action and doesn't like what he sees.

Let’s talk about elections. Is it just a year ago that Gordon Brown was wading gloriously through the summer monsoon floods and bird flu? He was on course for another big election win in the autumn. Then he decided to bottle it because Dave Cameron’s Tory bandwagon slipped into town with its usual threadbare, gold lamé policies. Diamond Dave derailed that whole new era of dour, competent government thing in one fell swoop. I still reckon Gordon could have seen off Dave but he choked, leaving the panting, expectant press corps at the altar. There is no fury like that of a bunch of drunks scorned and the Fourth Estate turned on him. “Why shouldn’t it be election year every year?” they cried. Well, it is. Elections are like death and multiple orgasms, there’s always someone somewhere in the world having one.

Letter From The Left Coast: Obama and His School Kid Politics

Ian Bowater in his latest letter points out the misogyny of the US main stream media - make that the international media - and the way they gave Obama a free ride.

False consciousness is a wonderful thing. The week that saw the end of Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President also saw “Sex and the City” reap $100 million at the box office. The best hope of a woman in the White House for several generations to come was forced to concede. The film that equates female empowerment with an urban myth about four over-sexed harridans being told what designer shoes to wear by its Gay male creators is so popular, there has to be a crossover demographic among the fans. I have near anarchist friends in West Finchley who think the girls’ antics are great. I know highly intelligent, fully paid-up, bleeding heart on their sleeves liberal women who don’t think the anti-Hillary campaign was sexist. When she was asked to pass the Commander-in-Chief test, they dubbed her a warmonger. When she showed emotion, it was crocodile tears to get her own way. When she touted her experience, she was riding her husband coattails. When she faltered, she couldn’t control her old man. When she wouldn’t give up, she was being a stubborn bitch. When she didn’t concede on Tuesday, she was a troublemaker-in-waiting.

Letter From The Left Coast: The Americans Are to Blame for Boris!

Ian Bowater, back from taking out a mortgage to get his car towed, with the latest from the US elections

Having failed miserably as a political prophet, I am re-inventing myself as a psephologist. The world of political number crunchers and navel contemplators can always use one more. Hillary Clinton has been massaging the figures ever since it went pear-shaped all those months ago on Super-Dooper-Tuesday. She has won five of the last seven primaries and still has got no closer to Barack Obama. Like climbing uphill in loose sand, it might be good for toning her thighs but it is still a big pain in the ass. There is no good way for her to look at the numbers even though Bill insists there is. He was never good with figures only results. He couldn’t tell you how he reduced the deficit, he only knows he did.

Letter From The Left Coast: Has Anyone Told Hillary She's Down and Out?

As the Democratic race enters its final furlong, Ian Bowater wonders why the Republicans still can't agree on McCain

True to form my last campaign prediction failed miserably. Despite being thrashed like a cheap rental car last Tuesday, Hillary is still in the race. Super Delegates are leaving in droves. But there is some suspicion in certain quarters that Obama is only picking up secretly pledged Super D’s and there are still some up for grabs. Where? Tell me where, fer crissakes! TIME magazine has already declared him the nominee. Most cable news pundits called it on Tuesday night only to wake up Wednesday to find she was still there, like a bad headache that won’t go away.

Letter from the Left Coast: Barack as Frontman for the White Middle-Class Liberals

Ian Bowater takes a more detailed look at Barack's preacher mentor

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into church, Jeremiah Wright came out again. And if you listen carefully to what he says, you know he’d take offence at “coming out”. What is it with these guys and sodomy – someone should tell them it’s not compulsory. However, this time it was too much for Barack. Fortunately, the bus he threw his grandmother under a few weeks ago was making a return journey and the good reverend became just another speed bump on the road to the White House.

Letter from the Left Coast: Don't Dis' the Pastor Barack!

Bang on time, another Letter from the Left Coast arrives with Ian Bowater watching US liberals with their knickers in a twist over that nice, pleasant chap Pastor Jeremiah Wright

My counter-intuitive prediction of last week paid off. Sheffield Wednesday still have all to play for. And after Pennsylvania, so does Hillary Clinton. A ten-point win set off another round of whining and whingeing, pissing and moaning about the damage this contest is doing to the party. All the P ’n M was coming from the Obama crowd who want their cookies – now! House Rep Clyburn of South Carolina who told Bill to calm down in February announced that there was a lot of gossip in the Black community about Bill trying to make it impossible for Barack to even win in November. How does that work? It’s Obama’s missteps off the teleprompter, his truthful but damning assessment if the rural white working class and his pastor, Reverend Wright, who appear to be bringing the poor chap down. I guess we’ll never know where Bill Clinton fits in.

Letter from the Left Coast: A Devastating Prediction!

Now Ian Bowater with the latest Letter from the Left Coast

On the final weekend before the last big or at least the most meaningful primary, in Pennsylvania, I am being goaded into making a prediction if not an endorsement. I have been bombarded with articles and polls that all favour Barack Obama – boy, are they organized! Having been urged to drink the Kool Aid, I will now make a prediction. With a heavy heart and against all that I hold dear, here goes… Sheffield Wednesday will be relegated from the Championship. I say that in the vain hope that like everything else that has been predicted in these troubled times, it will be wrong.

Letter from the Left Coast: Another Day, Another Clinton Reshuffle

After a few weeks in Europe, a brief respite from the increasingly fractious US elections, Ian Bowater returns to the Left Coast to find nothing has changed!

Three weeks away from the campaign and one thing has emerged – nothing has changed. Hillary Clinton has yet again re-jigged her staff with a firing. The Worsel Gummidge of the campaign and fashion adviser to Christopher Hitchens, Mark Penn has gone.  He was caught discussing Free Trade with the Colombians who had a contract with his political PR firm, Burson-Marsteller. Despite their history, free trade is a definite “no-no” for the Clintons these days, so Penn has left to spend more time with his money. Which will be considerably less now that the Colombian government cancelled their contract with Burson-Marsteller in the wake of brouhaha.

Letter from the Left Coast: Barack Doesn't Quite Disown the Skeletons

Here is Ian Bowater with his weekly look at the US elections

It’s all Obama, all the time! From electable, to unelectable, to oratorical colossus, to victim of State Department snooping, it’s been a helluva week for Barack Obama. On Tuesday, Barack forsook the 20,000-seat arenas and the rock star introductions, to speak to a small invited audience about an issue that is very dear to his heart – his career. Going all Presidential, he appeared in front of half a dozen silken Stars and Stripes to deliver his “why we can’t all get along” high school essay on racism in America. It was the first time an American politician used the ploy of hiding in front of the flag. The actual issue he was trying to get in front of was the matter of his troublesome mentor Reverend Jeremiah Wright. This week Obama proved himself to be a consummate and seasoned politico. When faced with having to answer some very tricky questions, he changed the question.

Letters from the Left Coast: Clinton Super Delegate laid low, but for a high price

Another letter from Ian Bowater, our LA correspondent

Contrary to the uncaring MoD, George W Bush knows how to treat his troops fighting in Afghanistan. He told them in a call to the front line that he envied their experience fighting for freedom and democracy. He described it as “kinda romantic”. Just like Vietnam – the other war he failed to turn up for.

Letter from the Left Coast: "Come on home to mama!"

Another report from Ian Bowater our ex-pat correspondent in California on the mysteries of the US elections:

Texas? Hold ‘Em! Barack went “all-in” as they say at the Poker contests that infest late-night programming cable sports channel. He outspent Hillary by as much as four to one in TV ads. As he pushed the stacks of chips across the table, she didn’t blink. She came up with one good commercial. “It’s 3 a.m... Somewhere in the White House a phone is ringing.” – Scary stuff! – Terrorism? No! “It’s the Chinese, President Mrs. Clinton. They want their money back.” It’s all about experience. Question… why does one highly talented, accomplished woman call another highly talented, accomplished woman a monster? Answer… inexperience. You can’t be part of a campaign and do a book tour. Samantha Power might be our conscience on Darfur but she ought to learn a bit about Girl Power at home.   

Letter from the Left Coast: Hillary Blows her Stash!

Right. That's quite enough about Harry. While I respect his willingness to go to fight in Afghanistan, he is only doing what I would expect any officer to do. I was more impressed with his remarks about his wounded colleagues being the real heroes, which suggested a growing maturity. Hopefully, that will extend to other areas of his life, although whether a cavalry officers' mess is the place to learn such maturity is I fear open to question.

The fight for the Democratic Party's presidential candidate enters an important - maybe even its final - phase this week with Tuesday's primaries in Texas and Ohio, what does our correspondent on the Left Coast Ian Bowater have to say about it all? 

Last time, I promised something on Hillary blowing her stash; little did I know that she was going to blow her stack. Still lacking traction after good debate performances, she laid into Barack Obama over last weekend. The Press Corps – bless ’em – were outraged. Their tender ears aren’t accustomed to passion or truth so, yet again, they circled the wagons around the Senator from Illinois – or as Hillary calls him “my  opponent”. Why can’t they invoke each other's name?

Letters from the Left Coast

This is a guest blog from Ian Bowater, a friend of mine living on the US West Coast. He's a screenwriter so he's had a bit of time on his hands!

I've been in L.A. for twenty years now and this is my sixth Presidential Campaign. I can't vote because I refuse to become a US citizen even though it means I cannot become a responsible signatory of the trust where all our wealth resides. Notwithstanding that and if Sherrie dies - the fates forbid - I'll have to apply to my octogenarian brother-in-law for my spending money, I still refuse to engage in the tragi-comedy of the American electoral system. Still wishing to have a voice, I'm sending the first in a series of occasional Letters From The Left Coast as my way of trying to get deported.

Has America Really Got An Opposition Party?

So at last it begins. Well at least let’s hope so. The Senate Judiciary Committee has subpoena-ed the White House; Dick Cheney’s office; and the Justice Department to obtain documents that would reveal the extent of the administration’s monitoring of communications between Americans and the outside world. The move follows what the committee’s chairman Patrick J Leahy described as “stonewalling of the worst kind” designed to disrupt the committee’s investigation of domestic telephone and email intercepts without warrants, an abuse of power excused as being essential to the fight against terrorism.

Good Riddance Rumsfeld

President Bush’s decision to get rid of Donald Rumsfeld in the wake of the Republicans' disastrous election defeat has to be welcomed. I’m afraid we are going to have to accept that Rumsfeld wasn’t reacting to the call made by this blog for him to go - even if he had read it, he would undoubtedly have ignored it - and while there is no doubt that this resignation was pre-planned, it would not have happened had the Republicans won. Rumsfeld was behind all four of the main decisions that contributed to the disaster that is Iraq and while he can’t be held uniquely to blame for the first, the decision to invade in the first place, he was the first to suggest that 9/11 provided the excuse to invade. Just as importantly, he was also the man ultimately responsible for the other three stupidities.

Death of a President

Just watched Death of a President, a stunningly realistic film, and a savage indictment of what counts for justice in the land of the free. There have been predictable protests that this film is making a political point against Bush and Cheney and does not represent reality. Sorry. But this piece of fiction is a far more accurate indictment of Bush’s America than any journalistic effort thus far.

Was This an Act of Desperation?

Quite who thought it was a sensible thing for Rear Admiral Harry Harris, the Guantanamo commandant, to say that the suicides of three of his prisoners "was not an act of desperation but an act of asymmetrical warfare waged against us" is difficult to imagine. Admiral Harris has of course messed up big time, in that the prisoners managed to kill themselves on his watch, thereby embarrassing an administration already under pressure over Guantanamo and uncertain what to do with its inmates. So perhaps he should be excused for pointing out that ultimately they decided to kill themselves. That at least we can agree on. But his words were hardly calculated to win hearts and minds among those who think that Guantanamo is a monstrosity, a testament to the inability of the administration to understand the world in which we live.

In Defence of Unnamed Sources

The sacking of a veteran CIA officer for having links with the press has added yet more worrying heat to an issue that I blogged on earlier this year. I was tempted to write on this at the weekend when the sacking was first reported but was concerned that there was insufficient evidence linking the sacked officer to the alleged offence. Mary McCarthy was alleged to have been the source for a story written by Dana Priest of the Washington Post on CIA secret prisons across Europe, an allegation she has now denied.

Nigergate II: The Strange Case of the Burglar Who Didn’t Want Money

The revelations in today’s Sunday Times that two employees of the Niger embassy in Rome forged documents apparently proving Niger was selling uranium to Iraq are unlikely to end the conspiracy theories that swirl around the Niger Affair, and not just because the investigation into the Plamegate affair will run and run. There are still a number of minor mysteries that require further investigation, particularly two burglaries in Rome, one at the Niger embassy over the 2001 New Year’s holiday and one at the home of the Niger consul on January 31, 2001. Both break-ins baffled the Italian police, not least because the burglar didn’t seem to be interested in taking any money.

Nigergate I: The Truth Behind the Secrets and Lies

It has always been astonishing to me that there has been so much controversy over the claim by President George Bush in his 2003 State of the Union address that “the British Government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa.” Regular readers of this blog will know that I am no friend of Bush and the fraudulent way in which he and Tony Blair took us to war. But as I have often said, and I am going to say again, those now infamous “16 words” were probably the only accurate comment on Iraqi WMD that the president made in the run-up to war.

Is Karl Rove stabbing Cheney in the back?

There are intriguing signs of George Bush trying to distance himself from Dick Cheney as the investigation into who leaked the name of covert CIA officer Valerie Plame homes in on members of the vice-president’s close circle. Leaking the name of a covert CIA officer is illegal under US law and an investigation has been going on for some time under Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald into who was responsible. Karl Rove, the president’s special adviser, reportedly “tipped off” Fitzgerald on the location of 250 emails that had mysteriously gone missing from the vice-president’s office.

Guantanamo and Bagram - does the adminstration have any kind of conscience?

Two interesting articles on the willingness of the US to lock up suspected al-Qaeda terrorists and throw away the key appeared in the US media on Sunday 26 February. The New York Times reports on the detention centre at Bagram air base north of Kabul where 500 people are held without trial in a camp that mirrors and is in fact far worse than Guantanamo. The other report comes in an LA Times op-ed piece by Thomas Wilner, a lawyer representing a number of Kuwaitis held in Guantanamo. It is worth noting that as Wilner says, some of those held in Bagram and Guantanamo were handed over by Afghan bounty hunters in return for the sort of financial reward that would keep an Afghan family in food for several decades.

The Bullying of the Press

I’ve just been interviewed by Jose Pagliery, a student at the Florida International University's School of Journalism for a documentary on the Downing St Memos. I say memos because while the initial focus among the bloggers and web newspapers which drew them to the attention of the US people was on just one memo, the minutes of a meeting of Tony Blair’s war cabinet in July 2002, there were in fact eight. I reported on six of the memos while working at the Daily Telegraph in September 2004. I then moved to the Sunday Times, where I obtained the other two memos, the minutes of that war cabinet meeting and the briefing paper for those attending.

Speaking to Jingo-Man by Larisa Alexandrovna

Having been accused of being gung-ho over my posts on the Paras and Donald Rumsfeld's special operations teams, I've decided to post a poem which says a lot on the themes I have been running about the "shadowy place" America has become recently and is the very antithesis of gung-ho. It is written by Larisa Alexandrovna who broke the story on Iran that I flagged up in a previous post but is actually a real poet. Larisa was born in the former Soviet Union, in Odessa, Ukraine. When she was seven, she and her family left the Ukraine, arriving in the USA via Austria, Czechoslovakia and Italy. She studied English and Writing at Cleveland State University and won a scholarship to the prestigious Imagination workshop. She is now Managing Editor of Raw Story. I'm sure Larisa will welcome any comments at all, and actually since I too am taking a small diversion from the hard news here, I will welcome feedback on whether that's worth doing. We had a small joke at the French in an earlier post just to break away from the hard news commentary for a moment and I'll be looking for other ways of breaking things up occasionally. Happy to take suggestions. But here's the poem.

Stuck in a "Shadowy Space"

My attention was caught this morning by a very good analysis of “the shadowy space” in which America is living post-9/11. Joseph J. Ellis, professor of history at Mount Holyoke College, Massachusetts, blames the current lamentable situation, where the President is arguing vociferously that when it comes to national security he is above the law, on the “ghosts and goblins of our traumatized imaginations” unleashed by those terrifying attacks on the US.

How the dog ate the President's homework

Well it seems that George doesn’t want to step away from the wiretaps. He is absolutely certain they're legal. Ernie, a correspondent on a previous post, suggests I’m trying to usurp the power of the Supreme Court by describing them as such. Not so Ernie. I get your point and it would be a very good one if there wasn’t such a simple point of law involved. As I said on that previous post, the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act is very specific. Anyone who orders or executes the interception of a telephone conversation or email with one end in the United States has to have a warrant and if they don’t they are breaking the law. So not only is George acting illegally, everyone down the chain to the guy pressing the buttons on the receiver is as well.

Putin, Cheney and Rove - the connection isn’t hidden inside the rock

The “news” that Britain is spying on Russia is shocking. Can they be serious? Is Moscow really a major spy centre? Wow aren’t we all so surprised? This has to be one of the most ridiculous news stories in months, only lifted by the use of a really nifty electronic dead letter box. In a very real case of the pot calling the kettle black, Russia’s Federal Security Service has accused the British of spying on them. Thank God eh? After all the furore about our spooks spying on us, they are actually doing what we pay them to do. But the back story behind the emergence of this new Moscow spy story is all just a bit too familiar.

It's Just The Way You See It

The case of Mohammed Yousry encapsulates everything America has come to be about since those terrifying attacks on New York’s World Trade Centre on 9/11. An Arab associate of Omar Abdel Rahman, the mad Muslim cleric jailed for his part in an earlier bombing of the centre, Yousry lived as an ordinary American for years until his friends in a quiet Connecticut neighbourhood found out that he was supporting terrorism. He was quite literally the enemy within.

Well that’s what the so-called US Department of Justice would have you believe at any rate.