Iraqi Refugees need U.S. help, advocates say

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico – Talk Radio News Service

America must invest more time, money, and human resources to help those displaced by the ongoing Iraq War, according to human rights advocates from the Washington, D.C.-based Refugees International.

The presence of 2.6 million displaced Iraqis persons is overwhelming to neighboring Middle East countries and is “undermining” to the social fabric of Iraq, said Ken Bacon, President of Refugees International, at a speech made today at the National Press Club.

President Barack Obama talked about displacement with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki during his surprise visit to Iraq on Tuesday.

Bacon is happy at what is being seen as a distinct change from the “little attention” that the Bush Administration paid to Iraqi displacement.

It is estimated that since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, 2.6 million Iraqi’s have lost their homes and have fled other parts of the country. An additional 2 million have fled to neighboring countries, including Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Bacon said that greater American and international support in receiving refugees and providing financial-aid can help stop the crisis.

Displacement of that many people “affects the whole region”, said Bacon, which results in educated citizens and specialized workers fleeing the country.

There are only 18,000 practicing doctors in Iraq, down from 32,000 doctors in 2002. There are more Iraqi doctors in Jordan than in Iraq’s capitol city of Baghdad, Bacon said.

Last year Democratic Senators Robert Casey (PA) and Benjamin Cardin (MD) introduced a bill to increase aid to Iraqi refugees and allow more of them to enter the United States. Since the FY2010 Budget has been approved by Congress, any appropriated funds to help Iraqi citizens would have to come through additional legislation, Bacon said.

A spokesman for Senator Cardin said it has not been decided yet if similar legislation would be introduced in this Congress.

Refugee International’s Field Report on the Iraqi refugee situation said that the Iraqi government is trying to keep more of its citizens from fleeing their homeland. It is feared by the Iraqi government that the existence of so many refugees tarnishes the image of overall security within the country.

The report also said Iraq violated international refugee laws in 2007 by asking Syria not to accept any more Iraqi refugees.

Many refugees have fears of returning home, the report says, because many of those that returned already have been killed.

Kristele Younes, an advocate with Refugees International, says that security is a major issue in Iraqi neighborhoods, with each little borough acting as its own walled off “fiefdom”.

Younes said that the United Nations is trying to place a tourniquet on the flow of persons out of the country by the end of the year, but significant challenges remain in Iraq, including budgetary shortcomings due to low oil prices, corruption within the government and sectarianism.

The Refugees International’s report on Iraq can be found here.

What can public media learn from commercial and vice versa

Vivian Schiller, the new NPR CEO, spoke at a luncheon today at the National Press Club. In the past she worked for organizations such as the New York Times and CNN, and she used her experience in both pubic and commercial media to share what each entity does well, and what can be improved. In her speech, she outlined five points for each category, and concluded with the steps NPR will be taking to improve its business model in difficult economic times.

What NPR can learn from commercial media:
1) More bottom line thinking. Schiller stated that commercial media keeps “Rigorous, ongoing evaluation of the business and its returns.”
2) A sense of urgency facing digital media.
3) Focus on audience. Serving the audience what they want and expect.
4) Do a better job at reaching diverse audiences, “not purely out of public service but because it’s good business.”
5) Not to be shy about publicizing, promoting, and marketing. “You know what, we do this really well, our audience appreciates it... Promoting and marketing yourself is not purely self-serving,” Schiller concluded.

What commercial media can learn from NPR:
1) Audience. NPR listeners have a very personal connection and ownership with their experience. Schiller said listeners feel, “NPR is mine, it belongs to me.”
2) Brands. Schiller believes NPR evokes brand loyalty as an entity better than any other media organization. In television, people have loyalty to shows, not networks.
3) Dedication of the workforce. “There are 8000 people that work in public radio... Nobody in public media is there because they think they’re going to get rich fast, or even slow. They’re all motivated by the mission.”
4) Business model. Schiller described NPR’s business: 60% revenue comes from programming fees and membership; 25% from endowment, philanthropists, and institutional foundations; and the rest from underwriting and sponsorship. Less than 1% from comes from the government funded Corporation of Public Broadcasting. Schiller explained that this model would not work for commercial media for several reasons, concluding, “Certainly they can learn but I don’t think its the answer.”
5) National-Local system. The national organization with local affiliates is something every news organization would want, and this is the most important, powerful aspect of NPR’s success. However, she believes the national and local levels need to work better together.

Schiller ended her speech by stating that problems facing media require immediate attention. She stated that NPR will be working on improving its model by increased communication and focus on local investigative journalism. “We have the urgency now and I believe that this is going to be our unique opportunity to rally together and serve the American public in ways that we do so well,” she concluded.

Conservatives say border security is sound policy, not racism

On Thursday afternoon at the National Press Club, a panel met to discuss the role that immigration played in the Republican defeat of 2008. Marcus Epstein, executive director of the American Cause and Team America PAC, coordinated the event and sat on the panel. He said that immigration policy should be based not on hate, but on sound policy, a sentiment echoed by the rest of the panel. Panelist Jim Pinkerton, senior fellow of the Free Market Fund and New American Foundation, said that border security is the same thing as homeland security. Pinkerton highlighted the threat of terrorism, and insisted that securing the borders (in particular the one with Mexico) was a high propriety in ensuring that America's threats were minimized and managed. Pinkerton insisted that a border fence would help us maintain our national identity, and said this kind of cultural struggle is an issue "in every sovereign country". Pinkerton went on to say that a border fence would help the economy by creating jobs to construct it, as well as protecting Amerian jobs which may otherwise be taken by immigrants.

Peter Brimelow, columnist at CBS Marketwatch and former senior editor of Forbes and The National Review, stated that demographic shifts are "steadily weakening the GOP". He said that the influx of immigrants, both legal and illegal, is helping the Democratic Party. He continued that the number of people in these growing demographic groups turning out simply overwhelmed the Republicans white base in 2008. In the context of future elections in which Republicans are competing, Brimelow said that, "the projections are quite grim" for a Republican victory.

By Michael Ruhl, University of New Mexico - Talk Radio News Service

Today at Talk Radio News

Talk Radio News correspondents are in New York City covering the United Nations Radio Row.

This morning, the Washington Bureau will attend a news conference announcing “Protest the Pill Day ’08” at the National Press Club, an event held by the American Life League. Following the vote on the “Lieberman-Warner Climate Security Act of 2008” in the Senate, a news conference with remarks by Sen. Joseph Lieberman (D-Conn.), Sen. John Warner (R-Va.), and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) will be attended. A joint committee meeting concerning employment in May 2008 be on Capitol Hill and a briefing on US-Chinese relations at the Center for Strategic and International Studies will also be covered.

Later in the day, the Washington Bureau will attend a presentation on the Older Americans Act held by the Leadership Council of Aging Organizations and a meeting of the Senate Oversight of Government Management, the Federal Workforce, and the District of Columbia Subcommittee which will discuss the role of the Department of State in national security.

Sound bites, getting it wrong?

The Reverend Jeremiah Wright spoke before a huge crowd of guests at the National Press Club. While the Vice President of the Press Club introduced him, including a statement about all of his previous inflammatory comments and how Senator Barack Obama is distancing himself from the Preacher, the Reverend looked at the floor with a half smile.

Although originally designed as a speech, the Reverend Wright spoke with great eloquence and passion as if giving a sermon, as his voice modulated up and down before the exuberant audience, mainly members of churches and a few non-profit organizations. As the speech progressed, members of the audience started shouting “yeah,” or “right,” and eventually “amen!”

The Reverend Wright said numerous times that by taking a phrase he’d said from a sermon and airing only that one piece, that soundbite, was essentially mischaracterizing his intent and creating inaccurate depictions of who he is and what he believes. He was not there, he said, to name which candidate he thought God wanted in the White House, but he did say (apparently in jest) that he wouldn’t mind being the Vice President.

A major focus of the speech was on history of the black culture and the black religious experience. At one point, Wright said, the black church was the “invisible institution” and was forced underground by the code, since if more than two black individuals congregated together, they had to have a white person present to monitor their behavior. This drew shouts from the audience, mainly “thank God” and “amen.”

You cannot confine a soul, Wright said, that has been liberated and set free by the gospel. Liberating the captives, liberates those that are freeing the captives. God does not desire to see us at war, to see us judging each other superior or inferior, or to see us hating each other. The way we see God, he said, shapes how we see men.

After his brief speech (which was met with a standing ovation), the NPC presenter came to the podium armed with a list of prepared questions that members of the press had submitted. The Reverend Wright looked rather amused at most of the questions, at one point asking if anyone in the media had watched any of his sermons in their entirety. He continually shrugged, laughed, and gestured to the audience how silly this all seemed, evoking peals of laughter from the audience.

During one question, asking him to reaffirm his statements about HIV being deliberately inflicted amongst the black community, Wright looked towards the press and almost indignantly asked which one of the reporters had asked such a question. A reporter leapt to his feet and shouted out the question again, invoking a “no questions from the floor” remark from the NPC. His answer was to ask if the reporter had read "Medical Apartheid," saying he (Wright) reads things, and based on what happens to African Americans in this country, he believes the government is capable of everything. We sold Hussein biological weapons, he said, and he believes "we are capable."

Stating a few times that he was not there to make political statements, Wright did, of course, acknowledge that he “is Barack Obama’s pastor.” A key, he said, is that reconciliation means that we embrace our individual rich histories, we root out any teachings of superiority or the hatred of those who are different than us, because they are all God’s children and no better, no worse, and in need of forgiveness. Only then, he said, will there be liberation and reconciliation.