Wednesday, November 30, 2016

John Stauber and Ava and C.I. on Wisconsin

Starting with John Stauber:


  1. ., cut the loosers a break! still thinks that he won the failed that was crushed by the .



Agree completely regarding the worthless John Nichols.


Agree even more regarding Wisconsin.

And couldn't believe all the crap we've endured on that in the last years.

Ava and C.I. didn't repeat the crap.

They told the truth.

This is from their piece in August 2013:


'We are the most important story and the only one that matters and our opinions are far more important than actual facts.'

No, we aren't offering our philosophy.  We're merely summing up a troubling one that keeps emerging in the media.  For example, on Thursday editor and CEO of The Progressive Matthew Rothschild was arrested.  No, barnyard animals were not involved.  Rothschild was attempting to photograph a woman being arrested at a Madison, Wisconsin protest and he got arrested instead.

Immediately came attempts to turn this into national news.  Again, no farm animals were involved and Rothschild had his pants up -- as far as we know.  It was a minor regional story at best.

But there he was on KPFA, talking to tired and needs to retire Kris Welch on Saturday Morning Talkies, about how awful it was -- while slipping in that others were arrested for protesting.  It's that way in his bad article as well.

He names Bonnie Block four times.  Ellen Holly and Mark Clear are named once each.   But, in his column, he refers to himself with "me" or "I" 37 times.

Yet he goes whining to Welch on Saturday and insists that he's so glad she has him on because the protests need national attention as does the efforts against Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker.


"Walker's arrested" X number of people Rothschild repeatedly maintained -- despite the fact that he -- along with many others --  have a problem calling out Barack Obama for his administration's actions -- they prefer to instead hide behind Hillary Clinton or Eric Holder.  Doubt it?  Check out Sherwood Ross' cowardly coverage of Bradley Manning's apology last week.  Cowardly?  Yes, it is cowardly to call out Hillary Clinton in the second paragraph and save criticism of Barack for the last paragraph.  Clinton was never president so she never had a say over whether or not Manning faced a court-martial.  In addition, she's not even in the administration (she resigned at the start of the year).  Barack's responsible for the court-martial so you call him out first and foremost unless you're a coward.

We were also struck by the nonsense Rothschild and Welsh offered regarding Wisconsin.  At one point, Rothschild insisted, "Well it was devastating when he [Walker] won the recall I've got to say because we had a million people sign signatures to get him out of office, all we needed was about 400,000 more people to vote against him and he'd have been out of office."

Facts are needed for an honest debate.  400,000 votes were not needed.  Walker received 1,335,585 votes while Tom Barrett received 1,164,480 votes.  171,106  was the amount of additional votes needed to defeat Walker.  Does Rothschild struggle with basic addition and subtraction?  That would explain a great deal.

(For any wondering, 939,266 registered voters did not vote in the recall.  Had Rothschild and company worked harder, they wouldn't have had to pull from Walker's support, only motivate 1/4 of the registered non-voters to vote and vote for Barrett.  All figures from the Government Accountability Board of the State of Wisconsin.)

Rothschild clearly struggles with other realities.  Despite the (small) ongoing protests against Walker, his approval rate was 48% with 46% disapproval.  Rothschild may want to portray Walker as hugely out of step with Wisconsin but the polling does not suggest that's the opinion of the state's citizens.

That doesn't mean Walker's good or great.  It does mean that despite running off national readers with their near exclusive focus on Wisconsin, The Progressive has failed to communicate effectively to the people of Wisconsin on what they see as Walker's faults.


But what does that matter when (Californian) Kris Welch is noting her outrage over Walker?  Does the idiot not grasp that one thing that can force the public to support a politician is attacks from outsiders?

As we listened to Matt whine and whine, we were reminded that Little Media only mirrors Big Media.



We need more reality like that.

Ava and C.I.?

I think it was Kat who said it first but whomever said it, they were right.  Ava and C.I. have a body of work that's incredible.

Their weekly pieces at THIRD are amazing.

They have covered everything.

And they've done a wonderful job.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


Wednesday, November 30, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, Mosul remains a slog, War Crimes continue, Elise Labott continues to be useless and much more.



In Iraq, the operation to liberate or 'liberate' Mosul is now on day 44.

Hayder al-Abadi is insisting it will (finally) wrap up by the end of the year.


This despite Elise Labott of CNN making like she was at a county fair pig hollering contest by hollering "NO!" in the midst of an October State Dept press briefing when a reporter offered that it was a slog.

It's not a slog?

Day 44 and it's not a slog, Elise?

Mosul was seized by the Islamic State in June of 2014.

Despite having over two years to plan an effort, the Baghdad based-government and the White House did not bother to factor in the refugees that would be created by this effort or the suffering of the civilians who remained in Mosul.


WORLD BULLETIN notes, "Up to 500,000 civilians in Mosul face a 'catastrophic' drinking water shortage as Iraqi forces advance on the ISIL group in the city, the United Nations warned on Wednesday."  AL JAZEERA adds:

"We are facing a humanitarian catastrophe," said Hussam al-Abar, member of Mosul's Nineveh provincial council, adding that 1.5 million people were still inside Mosul.
"Basic services such as water, electricity, health, food are non-existent."




AFP notes, "Some residents said the sudden water shortage was caused by air strikes from the US-led coalition that damaged the main carrier bringing water from the western side of the city."



So not only are they suffering, some are saying it's because of the US-led coalition.

(It may or may not be because of the US-led coalition.  That'll be determined at a later date most likely.  Right now, the point is that the actions of the US-led coalition have been so destructive that some residents believe this is also their fault.)

The refugees, the ones who have made it out?

They're not fairing any better.


Iraq refugees: 'We are dying here. The dirt is consuming us.'







Where was the planning?

Why wasn't the US State Dept leading on this?

Where's the outcry?



None of that troubles Elise Labott.

The woman who wants to be the third Mrs. John Kerry is too busy lusting after the Secretary of State -- doubt it, check out her Twitter feed.


Secretary comments on U.S. leadership at .
Secretary Kerry Comments on the Importance of U.S. Leadership
Secretary of State John Kerry comments on U.S. leadership at the Women's Foreign Policy Group Conference on November 29, 2016. - U.S. Department of State
 
 
 




This is the speech where Kerry gets his little jab in.


Not mentioning by name, aims criticism toward using "pithy tweets" to address global concerns
 
 
 



Pithy Tweets?


Poor John.

For years he wanted to be America's chief diplomatic officer.


The highest he made was Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

But then he got it, he finally got it.

And once he became Secretary of State -- possibly still hurting over the mocking of his war record -- all he wanted to do was pretend he was Secretary of Defense. 

And as he leaves office, all he wants is full out war with Syria.

John Kerry was supposed to prize diplomacy and offer a sure hand but instead he lurched around the globe like . . . Well, like Lurch on THE ADAM'S FAMILY.

And US President Barack Obama was forced to ice John out of key decisions and to elevate Brett McGurk to a higher post and, for all practical purposes, let Brett be Secretary of State.

Disgraced and with his tail between his legs, John will soon be heading home.

If only John had confined himself to Tweets -- pithy or otherwise -- the world might be a safer place.  Instead, he was constantly trying to egg on war -- with Syria, with Russia . . .

What a sad and embarrassing end to the career of a one-time grandstander (tossing those medals doesn't look so brave now as John ends his career, it just looks like another example of rank hypocrisy -- and that was the best moment in his life).


He'll be the one who looked the other way as War Crimes took place in Iraq -- carried out by the people the White House supported.


  1. Iraqi army crimes
    عاجل الحشد الشيعي الارهابي يذبح العراقيون السنه التركمان في تلعفر
    تطهير عرقي واباده جماعيه بتواطىء ودعم
    حسبنا الله



pics from Tal Afar
Genocide and ethnic cleansing
Iraqi Sunnis civilians killed by Iraqi army










John Kerry is an embarrassment and will have to live with the shame of his inactions for years to come.



Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Recount" went up last night and the following community sites updated:



  • And we'll close with this press release

    Indie singer and decorated war veteran, John Preston, will release his new song, Superman Falls, for presale mid-December. Preston said, “My whole purpose in life is to create music that heals the souls of veterans who have served. It is a battle every day for so many to stay mentally healthy after serving our country. There are too many men and women who have fought for our freedom that end up taking their lives because of depression and PTSD. This cycle needs to stop. Working in partnership with the Valkyrie Initiative to release this song has been a step in the right direction in helping those who need healing. I am truly grateful for this opportunity.”
    Preston has had his life experience with PTSD after returning from Iraq. He struggled with alcohol and depression for 15 years before pulling himself out of it. His brother was not as lucky; he ended up taking his life in January. “My brother was so strong mentally and physically I just didn’t see his suicide coming,” said Preston. “We are taught in the military not to show weakness, but they need to know it’s okay to ask for help. I don’t want anyone ever to think they are weak because they have PTSD and need some extra support services.”
    Preston partnered with the Valkyrie Initiative because it is a non-profit aligned with his purpose to help veterans with Post Traumatic Stress by treating the mind, body, and soul. The proceeds from the CD will all go to help fund programs for Veterans. The CD will feature ten artists and 14 tracks. Some of the other well-known artists include Dave Bray, the Scooter Brown Band, Ryan Weaver, and Dee Rock.
    About the Valkyrie Initiative:
    It is a non-profit dedicated to the to successfully facilitating the transition of Veterans, First Responders and their families using jobs and life skills training, animal therapy, systems education, and stress reduction for those who suffer from Post Traumatic Stress.
    About Singer John Preston:
    John Preston is a Pacific Records recording artist and full-time firefighter. Preston was a Marine Corps field wireman from 2000 to 2004 achieving the rank of Sergeant in his 4 years of service and with Second Battalion Seventh Marines (2/7) served as a mission squad leader for 2/7 H&S running over 100 combat missions while in theater. 
    John began his music career while in Iraq writing his song "Good Good America" which became an overnight success and gave him his first shot at the music industry signing a record deal upon his return from Iraq. The song and video inspired by Iraqi school children was a national media topic and was viewed hundreds of thousands of times in 2004. 
    John returned to the music industry in 2014 signing with Pacific Records and quickly releasing his first single "this IS war" in October of 2014. The song also became a national media topic when the Marine veteran made a call to action to veterans across the nation to stand against ISIS which had just made a surge through Syria and Iraq. The music video had thousands of views and secured a second release with Pacific Records. 
    Later in 2014, Preston released his Los Angeles Music Awards nominated EP "Your War is Over.” In 2015, he released in the Top 100 New Alternative Albums chart with his second EP "Day to Night." The album released on the one-year anniversary of the death of the Marine for whom he had written the song. John's video for Day to Night has had hundreds of thousands of views.
    John's life took a turn of tragic irony when in January of 2016 his brother fell victim to post-traumatic stress and took his own life. The passing of his brother was enough to make him consider ending his career, but has instead fueled his passion.
                            ###