First up, Jimmy Dore.
AOC, the fraud that never ends. Is her fan club still making excuses for her?
Alex Park (JACOBIN) reports on a new book:
In 1958, a year after it achieved independence from colonial rule, Ghana hosted a conference of African leaders, the first such gathering to ever take place on the continent. At the invitation of Ghana’s newly elected prime minister, Kwame Nkrumah, more than three hundred leaders from twenty-eight territories across Africa attended, including Patrice Lumumba of the still Belgian Congo and Frantz Fanon, who was then living in still French Algeria. It was a time of unlimited potential for a group of people determined to chart a new course for their homelands. But the host wanted his guests not to forget the dangers ahead of them. “Do not let us also forget that colonialism and imperialism may come to us yet in a different guise — not necessarily from Europe.”
Though a few other African countries appear on the sidelines, White Malice overwhelmingly concerns just two that preoccupied the CIA during this period: Ghana and what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Ghana’s appeal to the agency was based merely on its place in history. As the first African nation to gain independence, in 1957, and the homeland of Nrukmah — by far the most widely respected advocate of African self-determination of the day — the nation was inevitably a source of intrigue. The Congo stepped out of its colonial shackles soon after, in 1960. Because of its size, position near southern Africa’s bastions of white rule, and reserves of high-quality uranium at the Shinkolobwe mine in Katanga Province, the country soon became the next locus of the agency’s attention — and interference — in Africa.
“This is a turning point in the history of Africa,” Nkrumah told Ghana’s National Assembly during a visit from Congolese prime minister Lumumba a few weeks into the Congo’s self-rule. “If we allow the independence of the Congo to be compromised in any way by the imperialist and capitalist forces, we shall expose the sovereignty and independence of all Africa to grave risk.”
Nkrumah possessed an acute understanding of the threat and of the people behind it. Only months after his speech, Lumumba was assassinated by a Belgian and Congolese firing squad, opening the door to decades of pro-Western tyranny in the country.
Lumumba’s assassination is remembered today as one of the low points of the early years of African independence, but a lacking documentary record has allowed partisan investigators to minimize the CIA’s role. It’s a failure of accountability that has allowed the agency to appear blameless while reinforcing a fatalistic view of African history, as if the murder of an elected official was merely another terrible thing that “just happened” to a people utterly unprepared for the challenge of independence.
But, as Williams shows, the CIA was actually one of the chief architects of the plot. Only days after Lumumba’s visit to Ghana, Larry Devlin, the agency’s leading man in the Congo, warned his bosses of a vague takeover plot involving the Soviets, Ghanaians, Guineans, and the local Communist Party. It was “difficult [to] determine major influencing factors,” he said. Despite a complete lack of evidence, he was certain the “decisive period” when the Congo would align itself with the Soviet Union was “not far off.” Soon after, President Dwight D. Eisenhower verbally ordered the CIA to assassinate Lumumba.
The CIA’s agents did not, in the end, man the firing squad to kill Lumumba. But as Williams makes clear, that distinction is minor when one considers everything else the agency did to assist in the murder. After inventing and disseminating the bogus conspiracy plot of a pro-Soviet takeover, the CIA leveraged its multitude of sources in Katanga to provide intelligence to Lumumba’s enemies, making his capture possible. They helped to deliver him to the Katanga prison where he was held before his execution. Williams even cites a few lines from a recently declassified CIA expense report to show that Devlin, the station chief, ordered one of his agents to visit the prison not long before the bullets were fired.
In fact, the agents Nkrumah feared were already present. Not long after the event began, Ghanaian police arrested a journalist who had been hiding in one of the conference rooms while apparently trying to record a closed breakout session. As it was later discovered, the journalist actually worked for a CIA front organization, one of many represented at the event.
British scholar Susan Williams has spent years documenting these and other instances of the United States’ secret operations during the early years of African independence. The resulting book, White Malice: The CIA and the Covert Recolonization of Africa, may be the most thorough investigation to date of CIA involvement in Africa in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Over more than five hundred pages, Williams counters the lies, deceptions, and pleas of innocence of the CIA and other US agencies to reveal a government that never let its failure to grasp the motivations of Africa’s leaders stop it from intervening, often violently, to undermine or overthrow them.
And that's what the CIA does. The same CIA that so-called liberals spent the Trump years applauding. You either have ethics or you don't. It's not that complicated.
Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Thursday, November 11, 2021. Burn pits get some media attention and the count goes on in Iraq over the so-long-ago October 19th elections.
Barbara Miller (Australia's ABC) reports:
Julie Tomáška knew that living in the shadow of a burning waste dump the size of football field couldn't be good for her.
How could she not?
"No matter where we were, no matter how the wind shifted, we were smelling and kind of breathing in the smoke and the soot from these burn pits ... 24 hours a day," she said.
The burn pit was the inescapable backdrop to life on the Balad air base in Iraq for Staff Sergeant Tomáška and her colleagues from the Minnesota Air National Guard during her two tours of duty in 2005 and 2007.
The pits were used by the US military across Iraq and Afghanistan to dispose of pretty much anything – styrofoam plates from the canteen, electronics, chemicals, classified materials, contraband and even bombed-out vehicles.
When the flames died down, jet fuel was used as accelerant.
"It permeates everything and there's a layer of soot on everything," Julie Tomáška said.
At the time, Sergeant Tomáška and her colleagues deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom would joke about it.
"You sort of have a morbid sense of humour in a situation like that," the now 42-year-old said.
"We sort of stepped back and said, 'Well, this is really going to come back to bite us.'"
Years after she returned home to Minnesota, the prophecy came true when Julie Tomáška was diagnosed with deployment-related lung disease.
Specifically, she's been told she has a range of conditions, including constrictive bronchiolitis, chronic pleuritis, and pleural fibrosis.
First off, BURN PITS 360 is a good resource for this issue. Over the years, we've heard of veterans like Bethany Bugay who developed chronic myelomonocytic leukemia due to exposure to the burn pits while serving in Iraq.
There have been numerous hearing. Let's drop back to the November 6, ,2009 snapshot:
Now let's go to the November 10th snapshot of that year:
KBR's burn pits were the subject of a hearing, see Friday's snapshot, by the Democratic Policy Committee. Senator Byorn Dorgan chaired the hearing. Video is posted at the Democratic Policy Committee website. And Kat's "Democratic Policy Committee" went up Friday. Sunday, at Third, we noted
some of the testimony the committee heard but that Staff Sgt. Steven
Gregory Ochs and Staff Sgt. Matt Bumpus did not testify at Friday's
hearing. They couldn't because both men are dead. October 8th,
Ochs' sister Stacy Pennington testified to the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee on behalf of her brother and her family and on behalf of
Bumpus and his family.
Stacy Pennington: Both of
these brave soldiers you see before you dodged bullets, mortar attacks,
roadside bombs and suicide bombers. Eventually their tours of duty would
take their lives. The ultimate sacrifice for a soldier, for his
country, is death. However, their deaths did not show up in the manner
you may assume. In Balad is the site of the infamous enormous burn pit
that has been called by Lt Col Darrin L. Curtis, USAF and
Bio-environmental Engineering Flight Commander, as "the worst
environmental site" he had ever visited. Staff Sgt Ochs and Staf Sgt
Bumpus were both stationed in Balad and war, as strategic as it is,
followed them home. Death lay dormant in their blood and waited for
them to return safely home and into the arms of their loved ones. Like
every silent ticking bomb, it eventually exploded. On September 28,
2007, just months after Steve's return home from his third tour, he was
diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, also known as AML. He spent the
next ten months as a patient -- more like a resident -- at Duke
University Hospital. Doctors at Duke said his aggressive form of AML was
definitely chemically induced and, like Steve, both agreed it was due
to the exposures he experienced while in Iraq and Afghanistan. However,
the doctors refused to go on record citing as the reason that they could
not prove it. The aggressive AML that Steve endured was similar to
bullets ricocheting in the body causing torturous pain. The graphic
images embedded in my mind are of Steve's last screams for air as he was
rushed into ICU. Steve waved goodbye to my husband. Steve, with very
little strength, said, "I love you, sis" and my mom kissed his forehead
and said, "We will see you when you get comfortable." Five minutes
later, while in the ICU waiting room, the nurse came in to tell us Steve
went into cardiac arrest and they were working on him now. My mom ran
into ICU -- fell to her knees as she realized her son was dying. Screams
filled the air as we begged God to keep Steve here with us. We know
Steve heard us as tears were in Steve's eyes. Doctors and nurses pumped
on Steve's chest trying to revive him. But I knew immediately he was
gone. His spirit that surrounded my dear, sweet brother was gone. We
were left alone with Steve's body for hours as we were all in pure
shock. My mom looked upon my brother's face and wiped away the tears
puddled in his eyes. And at that very moment, our lives were changed
forever. Steve died on July 12, 2008. Two weeks later, on the opposite
of the coast, Staff Sgt Bumpus would succumb to the same fate. For Staff
Sgt Matt Bumpus, the ticking time bomb exploded with a vengeance on
July 31, 2006. Matt was rushed to the hospital by ambulance with acute
appendicitis. In Matt's own words, I quote, "The next thing I remember
is hearing that I had been diagnosed with AML." Doctors declared that
there was chromosome damage due to exposures he must have come in
contact with while in Iraq. Matt ended his prestigious service to the
Army one short year before the war zone chemical warfare showed signs of
its presence. As if this was not enough suffering, Staff Sgt Bumpus'
family was met by the VA with harsh claims of denial to benefits. This
battle continues to this day as Lisa, Staff Sgt Bumpus' wife, is left
alone with two small children to raise with no VA or military benefits
for her family. The aggressive assault of the AML in Matt's body was
taking claim. Jo, Matt's mother, recalls the haunted look in Matt's eyes
as he revealed to her that the AML invasion was back. Matt's mother
will never forget the discouragement and sadness that overwhelmed Matt
as the realization that promises he made to his wife and children to
provide for his family, to love and protect them, and that his sacred
word would be broken. He knew now that the battle was over and he would
be leaving his family behind. Tuesday, July 29, 2008, Matt once again
entered the hospital with fever and septic infection that discharged
throughout his body. Doctors notified the family that it would just be
days before his demise. Matt was heavily sedated as the pain and
incubation was unbearable. Nate, Matt's ten-year-old son, bravely
entered his father's hospital room to lay on his daddy's chest as he
said his final goodbye. Nate curled up by his dad and cried and cried.
Despite Matt's heavy sedation, Matt too was crying. Matt, being a
devoted Christian, appropriately passed away on a Sunday morning,
surrounded by his wife, mother, father and sister as they expressed to
Matt their everlasting love. They, too, were in shock and stayed with
Matt's body as the realization overwhelmed them that Matt would not be
going home. Matt died on August 3, 2008.
Hearing after hearing, and nothing ever gets done.
VOX recently wrote what looked like a slam piece on Jon Stewart. I know Jon and like him as a person. I think his comedy is funny. But the glorification of him that took place? Sadly, misplaced. And we called it out at THIRD. So the notion that we might need to examine Jon doesn't bother me. I think it would be better to examine the media's coverage of Jon. Jon's Jon. He's who he always has been.
The VOX piece -- no link to trash -- blames young people. I'm sorry, what?
Did young people explain Dana Milbank?
Have we all forgotten "angry bitch beer"? His beverage choice for Hillary Clinton?
The problem is not -- and never was -- Jon being Jon. It was the media and how they responded. It was the very clear destruction of journalism that followed. That's not Jon's fault. He's a comedian. That was the whole point in his comments on CNN's CROSSFIRE.
But because Jon is funny others thought they were too. Dana Milbank? The only time he's ever been funny was when he thought he was funny. Yes, the notion that Dana has a good sense of humor is a laugh getter.
And he and THE WASHINGTON POST weren't content to do journalism. No, they needed to do comedy. Which is how you got that sexist and horrible "angry bitch beer" video posted to THE WASHINGTON POST's website.
Jon's Jon. He is not the problem. His popularity is not the problem.
He maybe bears some responsibility for having a gift that makes it look so easy and leads idiots in the news media to think that they can do what he does. They can't. Most importantly, they shouldn't be trying to do what he does. Not grasping that is one of the many reasons that the media remains in the toilet.
While VOX hissed at Jon recently, I had to wonder, what issues has VOX ever led on?
I know they're a party organ for the Democratic Party. I know they're not a real news outlet. Everything is done through the filter of what will get votes for the Democratic Party. It's why THE WASHINGTON POST cut Ezzie Kelin free to begin with -- well, one of the main reasons. A calculation was done. Was his latest scandal worth keeping him. The latest scandal was the Journo-list scandal where he and other journalists plotted on how to cover Barack so that he'd get the Democratic Party nomination for president in 2008. And the problem was that Ezzie had yet again embarrassed the outlet. And he had no real reason to be there. He was only hired because he was popular and a 'new media' star. Why, since he was so popular, wasn't that translating to clicks for THE POST?
Good question. Ezzie was like an actor who slept with a certain male director and ended up on the cover of VANITY FAIR with a big push as the next big star only to then disappear. Those male 'celebs' never were celebs. They were created and pushed by the media. When revealed to be hollow bunnies, they were forgotten and tossed aside.
That's basically Ezzie. He wasn't that popular. He was created. Largely by the incestuous cluster-f**k at CJR's online site. They did their daily blog 'reports,' remember/ Those weren't reports. Those were them doing reach arounds to their friends. It was a circle jerk. And it gave the appearance of popularity but outside of the let's-all-link-to-each-other-and-not-disclose-that-fun-night-in-the-hot-tub (true story, Ezzie and some boys had a fun time in the hot tub) it didn't reach anyone.
The circle-jerk was able to create a buzz but that's all they were able to do and that made outsiders think these men (it was always men) were popular but they never were. And that's why Ezzie was never able to deliver.
It's all these years later and his outlet is tearing down Jon Stewart. For what Jon did or does? No, they're trying to blame the media's problems on Jon. The media's first step would be for various talking heads to grasp that they are not comedians. Stop trying to amuse the world -- there are entertainers who are trained in that. Your job is to address serious issues. Stop thinking you can turn MSNBC into THE DAILY SHOW. Stop thinking that and stop trying to do it.
On his new APPLE+ series, Jon is still championing issues like burn pits.
Help me out with what VOX has spent their time with over the years because, despite claiming to be a news outlet, they really have nothing to show for it.
Courtney Kube (NBC NEWS) reports:
The Biden administration will announce a series of actions Thursday to help veterans who were exposed to burn pits and other contaminants while serving overseas, including making it easier for vets to prove that they were exposed and pushing to find links between exposure and potentially deadly diseases, administration officials said.
The open-air pits were common at U.S. military bases during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Dangerous materials from electronics and vehicles to human waste were regularly doused in jet fuel and set ablaze, spewing toxic fumes and carcinogens into the air.
A senior administration official said the issue is personal to President Joe Biden. Biden has said he believes his son Beau died of cancer that was linked to exposure to burn pits during his deployment to Iraq.
"He volunteered to join the National Guard at age 32 because he thought he had an obligation to go," Biden said at a Service Employees International Union convention in 2019. "And because of exposure to burn pits, in my view, I can't prove it yet, he came back with stage 4 glioblastoma."
In August, the Department of Veterans Affairs began processing claims for veterans suffering from asthma, rhinitis and sinusitis based on exposure to the pits.
We'll note this Tweet.
In case the CNN video doesn't show up in the Tweet above, here it is below.
And, below, you can see Jon speaking this week on the issue.
I'm not really getting what VOX has ever put their weight behind other than churning out the vote for the DNC.
Turning to Iraq, THE NEW ARAB offers up a Joe Show video commenting on the October 10th elections and the possible meanings. And, for any wondering, the recount is still ongoing. Maybe someday soon there will be a final and official tally of the votes? Don't hold your breath on that. The word is that certain candidates are already preparing judicial challenges.
In the Tweet below, there's video of Nouri al-Maliki -- former prime minister and forever thug -- noting there can be no do over with the election.
His comments are in response to various groups, such as the Hashd militia, calling for a redo on the elections.
The following sites updated:
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Bahamas on Mountain Stage1 hour ago
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The awful Adam Schiff11 hours ago
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The rank sexism of KING RICHARD11 hours ago
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Jimmy Dore and Jonathan Turley11 hours ago
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Diana Ross11 hours ago
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The disgraced Brian Williams11 hours ago
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Van Morrison11 hours ago
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