Wednesday, February 13, 2013

It's time to impeach

Hump day.  Will we make it to the end of the week?

I hope so.  I have a friend who's getting screwed over in his job.  (It's not Tony.)  If he gets screwed over anymore (fired), I will be blogging about all the s**t going down in his office and the idiot who got put in charge there  earns a huge check for doing nothing but playing on her iPad all day or the computer.  She's real good at Facebook but she's not working for Facebook.  And, in fact, she's working for the government.  And I have no problem, if my friend gets fired, dragging everyone's ass into this.  Can you tell that I'm pissed?

I've already told him he needs to stop right now and file a lawsuit.  I told him I would represent him and not charge him a cent.  And I don't think we'd have to go to court.  For several weeks now, I've told him what to make copies of and what to document.  I have a feeling if he gets fired, we're just going to need to have a talk and a settlement will be offered.

Okay, this is from Stephen Lendman's impeach Barack piece:


America’s Declaration of Independence states:
“(W)hen a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute Despotism, (it’s the right of the people, it’s) their duty, to throw off such Government, and to provide new Guards for their future security.”
Straightaway as president, Obama violated his sacred trust. He betrayed his constituents. He’s a serial liar. He broke every major promise made. He serves illegitimately.
He institutionalized tyranny. He’s a war criminal multiple times over. He’s guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.
He menaces humanity. He’s heading America for WW III. He wants America’s social contract destroyed. He wants millions impoverished, unemployed, left hungry and homeless. He’s beholden to powerful monied interests that own him.
He spurns fundamental civil and human rights. He mocks democratic values. He’s contemptuous of essential needs.
Law Professor Francis Boyle is unequivocal. He told Progressive Radio News Hour listeners he should be impeached. He urged House Republicans to do so.

He needs to be impeached.

He really does.  He's a War Criminal.



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

 
Wednesday, February 13, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, the Iraq War he wanted turns profitable for John Podesta, Podesta advises US President Barack Obama these days and last night Barack gave another questionable speech, will protesters go to Baghdad, England's Labour Party takes a step away from Tony Blair's Iraq War, and more.


Felons rejoice, at his company website, Tony Podesta self-boasts, "Many people in Washington can tell you what just happened to you.  Tony Podesta helps you change outcomes."  The company slogan appears to be -- because it's all over the website -- "we are the podesta group. we deliver." -- "the trash" must have been left off due to a lack of space.  Or maybe with the Podestas, trash is just implied? 

In the second most popular episode of Charlie's Angels, season one's "Consenting Adults" (written by Les Carter), Farrah Fawcett's Jill lays down some basic truth with Laurette Spang's Tracy.


Jill:  Okay, let's both stop playing games.  For starters, you can drop the "Tracy."  It rhymes with Stacy and Macy and all those other jive names hookers like to latch onto.

Hookers and con artists frequently have to change their names -- which one is the Podesta Group?  Wikipedia explains the lobbying group "was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMatton" or, as it's called in DC, "the Podestaphile."  Byron Tau, Anna Palmer and Tarini Parti (POLITICO) reported this afternoon, "The government of Iraq is in the final stages of inking a contract with the Podesta Group as its first D.C. lobbying firm, according to multiple sources."  Really?  One wonders how the Iraqi people will feel about that, their government signing with John Podesta's lobbying firm considering John's Iraq history.


Dropping back to the March 28, 2007 snapshot:

Interviewed by Bonnie Faulkner (KPFA's Guns and Butter) today, professor Francis Boyle discussed how a 2003 exploration of impeachment by the Democrats was cut short when John Podesta announced that there would be no introduction of bills of impeachment because it would harm Democrats chances in the  2004 election.  Speaking of the measures being applauded by much in the media, big and small, Boyle declared, "It's all baloney.  All they had to do was just do nothing and Bush would have run out of money. . . .  The DNC fully supports the war, that was made clear to Ramsey [Clark] and me on 13 March 2003 and nothing's changed."  John Podesta, former Clintonista, is with the Democratic talking point mill (that attempts to pass itself as a think tank) Center for American Progress -- with an emphasis on "Center" and not "Progress." 



Here's David Swanson (in 2009, at Democrats.com) discussing Podesta's role in the Iraq War:

Boyle and Ramsey Clark presented the case for impeachment to Democratic congress members on March 13, 2003, just days before the bombs hit Baghdad. Impeachment could conceivably have prevented over a million deaths. The congress members present accepted the validity of the case, but John Podesta and others argued that it would be better for Democrats in the next election to let the war happen. We saw this same cold blooded calculation, of course, in 2007 and 2008, as the Democrats controlled the Congress and claimed to "oppose" the war while keeping it going. While Clark argued for the political advantage of pursuing impeachment, Boyle declined to address that point, preferring to stick to the facts. Sadly, electoral arguments are almost the only thing most congress members care about, and human life is not even on the list.



Here's Boyle speaking to Dori Smith (Talk Radio Nation -- link is audio and transcript) from February 7, 2007:


Francis A. Boyle: We just need one person to introduce the bill with courage, integrity, principles, and of course a safe seat. In Gulf War one I worked with the late great Congressman Henry B. Gonzales on his bill of impeachment against Bush Sr. We put that one in. I did the first draft the day after the war started. So in my opinion there is no excuse for these bills not to have been put in already. In fact, on 13 March 2003, Congressman John Conyers convened a meeting of 40 to 50 of his top advisors, most of whom were lawyers, to debate putting in immediate bills of impeachment against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft, to head off the war. There were draft bills sitting on the table that had been prepared by me and Ramsey Clark. And the Congressman invited Ramsey and me to come in and state the case for impeachment. It was a two hour debate, very vigorous debate, obviously all of these lawyers there. And most of the lawyers there didn't disagree with us on the merits of impeachment. It was more as they saw it a question of practical politics. Namely, John Podesta was there, Clinton's former White House chief of staff, who said he was appearing on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and they were against putting in immediate bills of impeachment because it might hurt whoever their presidential candidate was going to be in 2004. Well at that time no one even knew who their presidential candidate was going to be in 2004. I didn't argue the point, I'm a political independent. It was not for me to tell Democrats how to elect their candidates. I just continued arguing the merits of impeachment. But Ramsey is a lifelong Democrat and he argued that he felt that putting in these bills of impeachment might help the Democrats and it certainly wasn't going to hurt them in 2004.

So when the right thing could have been done, when the Iraq War could have been stopped before it started, when everything could have been changed, there was John Podesta arguing to destroy Iraq, to destroy the lives of the Iraqi people, so that Democrats could win the 2004 elections?  (For the record, the whore was wrong even when it came to electability: the Dems lost in the 2004 election -- they lost the presidency, the House and the Senate both remained under Republican control with Republicans increasing their seats -- in the single digits, but it's an increase -- in both houses of Congress.)

The Iraqi people are going to see their public monies go to feather the nest of the Podestas?  Oh, thug and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki may have some fresh problems on his hands.

The ongoing political crises continue.  Fresh off meetings this week with Ayad Allawi (head of Iraqiya -- the political slate that came in first in the 2010 elections) and cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr, Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani met with another official today.  Alsumaria reports he met with US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft in Erbil where they discussed the political crises and the issue of the democratic process in Iraq and that Beecroft supports a national meet-up which would be what Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for since December 21st -- of 2011. 


Yesterday there was outrage over the arrest of Imam Mohammad Zaidi.  Alsumaria reports today that the he has been released after being held for a little over 24 hours.  His supporters see the arrest as evidence of Nouri's practice of arbitrary arrests targeting those he sees as political rivals.  Mohammed Sabah (Al Mada) reports State of Law (Nouri's political slate) is insisting that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi is keeping 30 people from being arrested -- that they have warrants and he won't lift immunity (members of Parliament cannot be arrested while serving unless their immunity is lifted).  Iraqiya (political slate Osama al-Nujaifi belongs to) responds that the warrants are an attempt by Nouri to intimidate political opponents.


Moving over to protests, All Iraq News reports a new development in Basra where "hundreds" have staged a sit-in outside a center for the blind.  There are said to be as many as 500 people taking part in the sit-in that's calling for the government to care for the people with special needs (at least 13,000 people in the province are recognized by the federal government as challenged or disabled).  All Iraq News also reports that National Alliance MP Jawad Franck is insisting that protesters elsewhere in Iraq are being supported by 'third parties,' outsiders, foreigners.  More alarmist talk.  The reason?  Saturday, protesters in Anbar Province asked for permission to do a sit-in in Baghdad this Friday.  Nouri's been in a tizzy.  He's held multiple meetings with the National Alliance trying to figure out how to stop the protests.  Al Mada reports Anbar responds today with protesters saying they will go to Baghdad and take part in morning prayers and that Nouri cannot prevent them from entering their country's capital, not these residents and tribes of Anbar who refuse to allow their dignity to be besmirched.

But everything's in a state of flux and Ali Abel Sadah (Al-Monitor) reports that it appears the citizens will not be going to Baghdad to march, attend worship or take part in a sit-in thei Friday:
But the widespread deployment of security personnel at the entrances to Baghdad, alongside security checkpoints near Adhamiya, where the Abu Hanifa Mosque is located, prompted the protest leadership to retract the decision to move to Baghdad.
Rafi Taha Rifai, the Sunni Grand Mufti of Iraq, said in a statement obtained by Al-Monitor that the demonstrators’ decision “to go to Baghdad was rejected by the dictatorial authorities."
Rifai called on demonstrators to “postpone the decision to move to Baghdad to an appropriate time.”
Sources close to the leaders of the Anbar demonstrations expected activists to stay at their traditional place, in the “square of glory and dignity.”



By the way, who's supporting 'Ba'athists'?  Nouri's forever accusing protesters of being 'terrorists' and 'Ba'athists' and having connections to Saddam Hussein's regime.  For an example of that kind of propaganda, you can refer to this Ahlul Bayt News Agency nonsense.But Al Mada reports it's Nouri who's paying for the treatment of a Ba'athist in Turkey.  Sheikh Ali Hussein al-Hamadani's medical expenses are being covered by Nouri (which most likely means the Iraqi people are paying the costs) and the rumor is that he's doing it to curry favor with tribal leaders in Anbar in the hopes that they'll call off the protests.


Violence continues in Iraq at an alarming pace with Iraq Body Count offering that through Monday, February 11th, Iraq has already seen 150 violent deaths this month.  Today, Alsumaria reports 2 people were shot dead in Baghdad, a Baquba armed attack left two people injured, a man was shot dead on his farm in Diyala Province's Mukhisa village and 4 police officers were shot dead in different parts of Mosul.

Staying on violence, Saturday there was an attack on Camp Liberty.  Prensa Latina reports, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release."  CNN explained, "The rocket and mortar attack occurred at Camp Hurriya, a onetime U.S. base formerly known as Camp Liberty, which is now the home of the Iranian exile group Mujahedin-e-Khalq. Accounts of the number of people killed and wounded in the attack vary."  Amnesty International issued the following:

Authorities in Iraq must urgently investigate the attack against a camp of Iranian exiles that left several people dead and injured and ensure all those wounded receive appropriate medical care, said Amnesty International today.
The investigation should also look into the conduct of Iraqi security forces in the lead up and during the attack and whether they have failed to prevent any such attack.
Several people reportedly died and have been injured as a result of the attack against Camp Liberty, home of some 3,000 Iranians in exile in Iraq, on 9 February.
“The attack against Camp Liberty is a despicable crime,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Amnesty International Middle East and North Africa Programme's Deputy Director. 
“Authorities in Iraq must ensure not only that those responsible for this attack are brought to justice but that those living in the camp are protected.”
The residents of Camp Liberty, members of the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran which opposes the Iranian government, were recently relocated to a site in north-east Baghdad – after having been settled for 25 years in Camp Ashraf.
Residents claimed the Iraqi forces attacked some of them during the relocation process in 2012.
Today the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Chief, Antonio Guterres, stressed that the residents of Camp Liberty are asylum seekers undergoing refugee status determination process and as such are entitled to international protection.
In April 2011, Iraqi troops stormed camp Ashraf using grossly excessive force, including live ammunition, against residents who tried to resist them. Some 36 people ­– 28 men and eight women – were killed and more than 300 wounded. Those injured were prevented from leaving the camp to obtain medical treatment.  

Yesterday's snapshot included State Dept's spokesperson Victoria Nuland commenting on Camp Ashraf residents in full.  She insisted that the residents would not be allowed to return to Camp Ashraf (a position Nouri al-Maliki shares).  She's really not the one to make decisions.  The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents is calling for the refugees to be allowed to return to their original camp which was more protected than Camp Liberty:


The US Committee for Camp Ashraf Residents (USCCAR), on behalf of hundreds of Iranian-Americans whose loved ones in Iraq’s Camp Liberty were the target of the Tehran-engineered rocket attack last weekend, has written to the US Secretary of State John Kerry to urge him to facilitate the immediate return of Camp Liberty residents to Camp Ashraf where they are far better protected against such attacks.
Saturday’s cowardly attack, which left seven residents killed and more than 100 seriously wounded, attests to the fact that this camp is neither safe nor secure for the residents whom the UN Refugee Agency has recognized as asylum seekers.
In the letter, USCCAR noted that “By all measures, Camp Liberty is a killing field. It is only half a square kilometers in size, 80 times smaller than Camp Ashraf. The camp lacks any shelter or high concrete walls to shield the residents against rocket attacks. The residential areas are consisted of dilapidated trailers that are crammed next to each other. The trailers’ aluminum walls provide no protection at all against rocket shrapnel… In contrast, the sprawling Camp Ashraf has buildings made from concrete and contains protective shelters.”
“We, the families of Iranian dissidents in Camp Liberty and Camp Ashraf, hold the United States responsible for safety and security of our loved ones in accordance with its treaty and international obligations as well as its written guarantees to each and every resident in 2004 that it will protect them until their final disposition,” the letter added.
Recalling Secretary Kerry’s condemnation of the April 2011 attack on Camp Ashraf by Iraqi forces as a “massacre” when he was the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair, the letter urged Secretary Kerry “to facilitate the immediate return [of the residents] to Camp Ashraf before more innocent lives are taken by Tehran and their Iraqi proxies.”
Some 3,100 members of Iran’s principal opposition movement, the Mujahedin-e Khalq (PMOI/MEK) have been living at Camp Liberty, a former U.S. military base near Baghdad international airport after they left Camp Ashraf, their home for 26 years, following US and UN assurances about their safety and security. About one-third of the residents are women and an equal number are former political prisoners in Iran.



The Iraq Times reports today that the Navy Seal who shot Osama bin Laden revealed to the Spanish press that Metallica's music was used in the torture of Iraqis up until the group learned of it and asked that they US military stop using the music because they do not favor violence.  The outlet refers to this Peru.com article -- so if you read Spanish but not Arabic, you can refer to it.   3News adds, "Interrogators opted for Christian metal group Demon Hunter to replace Metallica, and they were more than forthcoming about being used to wear down terror suspects."

Tuesday, we were noting Tom Harris (Huffington Post UK) ridiculous column moking Sam Parker's column on the Iraq War.  Harris is a Labour MP and, as we pointed out, his column didn't help his party.


Tony Blair left office in disgrace.  Ed Miliband is an idiot if he lets Tony back in.  David is the smart brother (I know them both) and, were he the leader of Labour, he'd be explaining to Tony that he's a liability.  Whether Ed gets the brains to do that or not, Tony Blair is a joke in England and around the world.  There have been repeated attempts at citizens arrest.  He can't escape his War Crimes.  He may escape legal punishment, but he's a joke.  Even his 'religion' has become a joke (specifically, smearing leaves, fecal matter and whatever else on himself and his wife before they 'procreate' has made for laughter around the world).  Tony didn't just leave in disgrace, he poisoned the term of his successor Gordon Brown.  Tony Blair and his lies are the reason Labour's no longer in power (the same way that in the US, the Republicans lost power or why Kevin Rudd's Labor Party -- and now Julia Gillard's Labour Party --  replaced John Howard's Liberal-Democrats).
Harris is an idiot to fail to see that that every political party in power in the three countries at the time of the start of the war are no longer in power.
He's a pompous ass who hurts his own party because what Labour needs to do is to find a way to make up for their appalling position on Iraq, not pretend like it doesn't exist.  As long as Harris is  bitchy, he can count on Labour continuing to have to struggle and to be out of power.
And tip to Harris, I don't believe a politician ever wins a public battle when they mock a citizen.  In fact, that strikes a lot of people as unseemly and undignified, it sort of cheapens the office.



Andrew Grice (Independent of London) reports today:

Ten years after the Iraq War, Labour will attempt to further distance itself from a conflict which alienated many voters by warning against the “ideological” crusade against al-Qa’ida favoured by Mr Blair and Mr Cameron.
The party will say that Mr Cameron risks repeating Mr Blair’s errors in Mali, where 350 British  personnel are supporting the French military operation.
After criticism that it has few policies, Labour is finally starting to show its hand. Ed Miliband will make a major speech on Thursday as he defines what his “One Nation Labour” slogan would  mean for economic policy.

Nick Hopkins covers the same story for the Guardian, "Labour has conceded for the first time that a 'primitive understanding' of the Islamic world caused some of the problems faced by the west in Iraq and Afghanistan, and warned David Cameron his response to the terrorist crisis in north Africa shows he has not learned the painful lessons from those conflicts."  This is a step in the right direction but if Labour wants to attract voters back to the party, this can only be the first step in a series of steps.


Pretty word walking?  Last night, US President Barack Obama gave the Constitutionally mandated State of the Union address.  Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee.  Her office issued the following:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday, February 12, 2013
CONTACT: Murray Press Office
(202) 224-2834

Senator Murray's Statement on President Obama's State of the Union Address

“Tonight the President laid out a robust agenda for continuing to build a more secure middle class and an economy that provides opportunity for everyone. He described how by investing in manufacturing, our infrastructure, new and cleaner forms of energy, our schools, and the skills of our workers we can create the economic growth needed to put Americans to work and reduce our deficit responsibly.
“The President also spoke about the core American ideals of compassion and opportunity that will be so important as we tackle issues that should unite us, like finally passing comprehensive immigration reform. And the President delivered welcome news that more of our troops will be coming home in the coming year. As they do, it is going to be critical that the Pentagon and the VA do more to work together to give these brave men and women access to health care, employment opportunities, and the benefits they have earned to help ease their transition back into civilian life.
“On the tough fiscal battles ahead, the President repeatedly stressed the key principle that will be required for us to make progress: balance. He made it clear that while we absolutely need to tackle our deficit and debt responsibly, the number one priority right now needs to be protecting our fragile economic recovery and creating strong middle-class jobs. This means we need to move quickly to replace the automatic and damaging cuts from sequestration with a balanced mix of responsible spending cuts and new revenue from the wealthiest Americans. And it means that any budget plan we put forward needs to be fair and not call on seniors, our men and women in uniform, and our most vulnerable to bear the burden of deficit reduction alone.
“Families in Washington state and across the nation are hungry for bold solutions to the challenges they see their families and neighbors confront each day. Tonight the President spoke directly to them and reassured them that their daily struggles will continue to drive his agenda. In the months ahead I will be doing the same by laying out a pro-growth budget that that puts jobs and the middle class first, tackles the debt and deficit responsibly, calls on the wealthy to pay their fair share, works for seniors and families, and lays down a strong foundation for long-term and broad-based economic growth.”


Matt McAlvanah
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834 - press office
202--224-0228 - direct

Last night's speech?  As CNN's Gloria Borger observed (link is text with video of the speech and response), "In many ways, what we heard tonight is the same old, same old argument."  The most important critical observation came from Fred Kaplan (Slate) who offered it as a parenthetical, "(As for Iraq, it's so forgotten he didn't even deign to mention it.)"   Here's what he had to say on Afghanistan:

Tonight, we stand united in saluting the troops and civilians who sacrifice every day to protect us. Because of them, we can say with confidence that America will complete its mission in Afghanistan and achieve our objective of defeating the core of al Qaeda. Already, we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women. This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that over the next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue and by the end of next year, our war in Afghanistan will be over. Beyond 2014, America’s commitment to a unified and sovereign Afghanistan will endure, but the nature of our commitment will change. We're negotiating an agreement with the Afghan government that focuses on two missions -- training and equipping Afghan forces so that the country does not again slip into chaos, and counterterrorism efforts that allow us to pursue the remnants of al Qaeda and their affiliates.

In terms of the drawdown, it's more honest than what he said about Iraq.   And that's allowed the news outlets to be more honest than they were about Iraq.  Devin Dwyer and Jonathan Karl (ABC News) word it this way, "There are currently 66,000 U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan. Obama has vowed to bring nearly all of them home by the end of next year, though a small contingent will likely remain to train Afghan forces and assist counterterrorism operations, officials have said. " Just like in Iraq, where US service members remain for training and counterterrorism operations.  So, no, it's not really ending.  Senator John McCain speaks with Nicholas Ballasy (The Daily Caller -- link is video) about Iraq, relating it to Afghanistan. I'm giving it a link because it is on the topic.  I'm not transcribing it because I have better things to do than transcribe lies.  This is not about the fact that I disagree with McCain or that I don't like him -- all of that's long established here.  At any hearing I attend where he speaks, he stands a shot at being quote -- both to be fair and because he usually is fairly straightforward in the hearings.  In this instance, Ballasy is either unaware of the reality of the US in Iraq currently or he doesn't care about truth.  I don't know.  But McCain does know the truth and he hedges his responses to tailor to Ballasy.  McCain's basic complaint is that Barack hasn't left a large enough force in Iraq.  That's his opinion, I disagree but have no problem noting that opinion and would note it without even a "I disagree" (assuming -- possibly incorrectly -- that most reading would already know my position on this topic).  But to go along with Ballasy's notion that all troops left?  McCain knows better than that.  I don't have time to transcribe lies.  As Cindy Sheehan noted to Abby Martin October 12th of last year on Breaking the Set (RT -- link is video) with regards to claims of the war being over, "but we both know that the violence continues and we're still occupying Iraq."  FYI, Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox this week features an interview she did with Abby Martin -- if it's the one in the video, it's a much longer version and Cindy speaks about failures within the peace movement -- or about frauds within the peace movement who were really about an anti-Bush movement.  Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive) observes of Barack's latest speech:


And appallingly, he defended his drone warfare and assassination policy. “Where necessary, through a range of capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans,” he said. And in the very next sentence, he had the chutzpah to add: “As we do, we must enlist our values in the fight.”
He said his Administration “has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy framework to guide our counterterrorism operations.” But is it “legal” just because he and his Justice Department say it is?
He also said, in a bald-faced lie, that “throughout, we have kept Congress fully informed of our efforts.” Try running that past Sen. Ron Wyden, who for months has been trying to get his questions answered on the Administration’s assassination doctrine.

A few quick notes.  "Consenting Adults" is the episode of Charlie's Angels which is better known for Farrah Fawcett's skateboarding.  The only more popular episode was "Angels in Chains" -- when Jill, Kelly (Jaclyn Smith) and Sabrina (Kate Jackson) went to a women's prison (other prisoners included Kim Basinger).  None of the post-Farrah episodes were ever as popular as those two.  Farrah was a friend and I was speaking to a mutual friend today who said he'd bet I couldn't find a way to mention her in the snapshot -- he was wrong.  When I told him how I planned to work her in, he noted that Dick Dinman was a guest in that episode and he now hosts a radio show in Portland, Main on WMPG entitled DVD Classics Corner on the Air -- which I promised I'd link to. Dinman played the john that Tracy sleeps with and sets up for robbery setting the Angels case in motion.  In yesterday's snapshot, I got Joshua Key's name right at the top and then in the middle called him "Joshua Long" before going back to Joshua Key.  His name is Joshua Key.  I probably was thinking of a friend (Joshua Long) when I was working on the snapshot (I typed up Joshua's remarks at lunch and dictated the rest).  My apologies.  We should cover a hearing in tomorrow's snapshot -- House Veterans hearing that took place today -- but there's not room to do it today. 































Zero Dark Thirty

Tuesday.  Okay, I'm floored.

How does she do it?  I'm talking about C.I.  She gave me a break down two weeks ago of Zero Dark Thirty's box office for February.  February is the month we're in now.  She gave me the breakdown back in January.

I just pulled up the most recent posted box office, Monday's daily chart, and checked.  She was exactly right.  Don't call her psychic because she'll say she's not.  She's actually got a formula for box office that's rather complicated but that usually has friends calling her after opening weekend for her guess for the film's final total when it finishes its run. 

I can't believe it.  But good for her.  She can't tell you who'll win the awards but she can look at the opening box office and tell you what the film will make ("at least ____") and be right.  If she's got two or three weeks of data, she can tell you within $50,000.  That's why I asked her for the Zero Dark Thirty numbers.  A friend of hers who is nominated this year for Best Director had called and she handed me the phone after saying, "Hello, hold on" because she was on one of her other cell's.  She indicated it would be a minute so I'm saying hi to him and congratulating him on his nomination and he starts telling me how she knew it would make X.  And her whole formula.

(I'm rooting for him to win Best Director.  He's the only nominee I've spoken to.  If he wins, for days after, I'll be saying, "You know ____ who just won Best Director and I were on the phone back in January and . . ." :D )

(Oh and if you're wondering why he'd called that Friday, he'd heard the film was going to take a serious hit.  Exhibitors were saying the ticket buyers wanted something else.  And that's not what C.I.'s prediction had shown so he wanted to know if she felt strong on it.  She told him, when she did take the phone, that he could bet her whatever he wanted on this because she felt that strongly about it and that's when she was going through the formula precisely.  I know she'd argued with some friends at whatever studio released Sandra Bullock's funny film with Ryan Reynolds -- The Proposal! - because at one point they were saying the film had ended its cycle and she was saying, "No, no, there is still plenty of life in it, promote it some more."  But I didn't know she had this actual formula.)

On Zero Dark Thirty, Ava and C.I. wrote about it in "Media: The never-ending sexism" and they explained about one lie that keeps circulating.  You've probably heard it.  The lie is that the film has waterboarding work to force a name out of someone.  Here's Ava and C.I.:


It would help if people discussing the film would see it.  There's a lie that Ammar gives up information after he's water boarded.  How that lie got started, who knows?  But David Denby certainly popularized it in his review for The New Yorker, "Yet, in attempting to show, in a mainstream movie, the reprehensibility of torture, and what was done in our name, the filmmakers seem to have conflated events, and in this they have generated a sore controversy: the chairs of two Senate committees have said that the information used to find bin Laden was not uncovered through waterboarding." And because The New Yorker no longer has functioning fact checkers, it first appeared in a 'report' by Dexter I-Lied-About-Falluja-And-Let-The-US-military-vet-my-copy Filkins:  "Bigelow maintains that everything in the film is based on first-hand accounts, but the waterboarding scene, which is likely to stir up controversy, appears to have strayed from real life.  According to several official sources, including Dianne Feinstein, the head of the Senate Intelligence Committee, the identity of bin Laden’s courier, whose trail led the C.I.A. to the hideout in Pakistan, was not discovered through waterboarding."

People have repeatedly latched onto the lie in slamming the film.  You can't get through a comment thread on any article about the film without somebody bringing that up.  But in the film itself, the water boarding does not produce a name.   How do you miss that?   In fact, in the shooting script, the scene's end is described as, "Dan and Maya exit.  They've learned nothing."


Yeah, that lie has been latched onto.  I honestly wonder if Michael Ratner had bothered to see the film before 'weighing in,' if he would have done so.  The Glen-Glen Greenwalds repeated that lie over and over and if Ratner had seen the film for himself, I don't think he would have jumped on board that lunatic ride. 

At least, I hope not.  He's usually a very smart man.  I'm going to quote from Ava and C.I. one more time:

What Michael Ratner apparently needs, to get his feet out of the pool of guilt that all of us Americans are standing in, is a character -- possibly named Michael -- who runs through the film insisting, "Torture is wrong!  Torture is wrong!" He needs some sort of an out, an exception, a waiver.
Tough.  You don't get that.  The country was attacked on 9-11.  Bully Boy Bush made the decision that violence would not be investigated and prosecuted but would instead begat more violence.  What should we have done?  Like Michael Ratner, we protested, we marched, we rallied, we spoke out.  It didn't stop the events from happening -- the sort of events captured in Kathryn Bigelow's film.

It's a very dark period and the movie gets at that.  But some 'film critics' like Michael Ratner and Glenn Greenwald need a film that claims torture happened because those involved were bad and evil people.  That's not what happened.

That cartoon version of reality may provide happy thoughts and pleasant dreams but it doesn't do a damn thing to provide understanding of how a nation that once knew torture was wrong ended up using torture as a first and foremost resort.



I think that's my favorite part of their article.  Especially when they write, "Tough."  :D


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

 
Tuesday, February 12, 2013.  Chaos and violence continue, the State Dept gets pressed on the Camp Ashraf residents, Nouri continues his clampdown on Baghdad, Norman Solomon rates Colin Powell's lie-filled speech to the UN, Joshua Key talks about being a war resister in Canada, students in England talk about the impact the global protests against the war in February 2003 had on them, and more.



The 10th anniversary of then-Secretary of State Colin Powell lying to the United Nations -- because lying was the only way to sell the illegal war -- was last week.  His guy pal Lawrence Wilkerson worked hard to spin for Powell last week.  But, as Third noted,  Norman Solomon repeatedly countered the revisionary spin: "turned out a column of truth, went on Democracy Now! and debated Larry (Amy was so supportive of Larry, wasn't she?) and then discussed Powell's presentation on CounterSpin."    Norman Solomon also appeared last week on Danny Schechter's News Dissector Radio which airs Thursdays on the Progressive Radio Network at 5:00 pm EST. You can stream it here (Media Channel).  And we'll note an exchange from that.


Norman Solomon: Lawrence Wilkerson was the chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell and he stayed in that position until 2005. He has claimed credit or blame for writing the basic script that Colin Powell read at his now infamous presentation to the UN Security Council on February 5, 2003 which turned out was six weeks before the invasion of Iraq.  And so yesterday was occasioned by this week being the tenth anniversary of that speech -- I think arguably, Danny, perhaps the most dangerous, destructive and disreputable speech given by a US diplomat in the last several decades -- and that's saying something.

Danny Schechter: So here we had Secretary of State Colin Powell sitting in a chair on the hill and behind him was the Director of the CIA who could have been actually his puppet master.  Basically with a lie, basically suggesting that we were being threatened by Iraq, Iraq had these dangerous weapons, these dangerous chemicals and that action was necessary and, you know, that the truth, the facts didn't have much to do with the presentation.  Did it?

Norman Solomon:  Well what's mind blowing is that it's so easy to forget what at tremendous waterfall and avalanche of praise greeted Colin Powell's speech to the UN Security Council in New York ten years ago.  And just not only from the Fox News type of media outlets, we're talking the New York Times, the Washington Post, on the front page, on the editorial page, the editorials by these esteemed papers.  When you go back and you look, not only did the Washington Post, for instance, with its lead editorial speaking for the newspaper itself, headline their editorial with "Irrefutable" and saying that the issue was settled and that Weapons of Mass Destruction were definitely in the possession of Saddam Hussein in Iraq, but then when you go to the flip page, the opposite page of opinion that day, you had three columnists -- two of which are still with us -- Jim Hoagland and Richard Cohen -- and then one who has since passed away, the usually sensible, but not on that day sensible, Mary McGrory.  And all three of them were in total accord, saying that Colin Powell had made a convincing case.  So it went at that point.  All dissent was basically excluded from the mass media frame and it was off to war.



And we'll stop there.  Norman Solomon's latest column is "War Makers Are In  a Bunker" (San Francisco Bay Guardian).  and pick up in a second with Danny, at the end of his show, discussing the NDAA.  For background on that, this is from Chris Hedges' "The NDAA and the Death of the Democratic State" (Truthdig):

On Wednesday a few hundred activists crowded into the courtroom of the Second Circuit, the spillover room with its faulty audio feed and dearth of chairs, and Foley Square outside the Thurgood Marshall U.S. Courthouse in Manhattan where many huddled in the cold. The fate of the nation, we understood, could be decided by the three judges who will rule on our lawsuit against President Barack Obama for signing into law Section 1021(b)(2) of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA).
The section permits the military to detain anyone, including U.S. citizens, who “substantially support”—an undefined legal term—al-Qaida, the Taliban or “associated forces,” again a term that is legally undefined. Those detained can be imprisoned indefinitely by the military and denied due process until “the end of hostilities.” In an age of permanent war this is probably a lifetime. Anyone detained under the NDAA can be sent, according to Section (c)(4), to any “foreign country or entity.” This is, in essence, extraordinary rendition of U.S. citizens. It empowers the government to ship detainees to the jails of some of the most repressive regimes on earth.
Section 1021(b)(2) was declared invalid in September after our first trial, in the Southern District Court of New York. The Obama administration appealed the Southern District Court ruling. The appeal was heard Wednesday in the Second Circuit Court with Judges Raymond J. Lohier, Lewis A. Kaplan and Amalya L. Kearse presiding. The judges might not make a decision until the spring when the Supreme Court rules in Clapper v. Amnesty International USA, another case in which I am a plaintiff. The Supreme Court case challenges the government’s use of electronic surveillance. If we are successful in the Clapper case, it will strengthen all the plaintiffs’ standing in Hedges v. Obama. The Supreme Court, if it rules against the government, will affirm that we as plaintiffs have a reasonable fear of being detained.
If we lose in Hedges v. Obama—and it seems certain that no matter the outcome of the appeal this case will reach the Supreme Court—electoral politics and our rights as citizens will be as empty as those of Nero’s Rome. If we lose, the power of the military to detain citizens, strip them of due process and hold them indefinitely in military prisons will become a terrifying reality. Democrat or Republican. Occupy activist or libertarian. Socialist or tea party stalwart. It does not matter. This is not a partisan fight. Once the state seizes this unchecked power, it will inevitably create a secret, lawless world of indiscriminate violence, terror and gulags. I lived under several military dictatorships during the two decades I was a foreign correspondent. I know the beast.


Now for Danny Schechter's commentary:

We had a guests on the program a few weeks ago, Carl Mayer, a lawyer who has been fighting the battle against the NDAA.  He was in court confronting the Obama administration. Earlier, judges on the appeals court in New York threw out this NDAA ruling in a lawsuit brought by Chris Hedges and some others and who are very concerned about the possibility of legislation that allows for indefinite detention.  You get on some list and suddenly you're in jail for life with no recourse and no ability to appeal and no ability to even understand why you've been so chosen.  You know, of course you'll be labeled a 'terrorist' and all of the rest of it, whether or not you are.  And so a court in New York was urged to reverse the ruling by the Obama administration, the Harvard law school, professor turned president is now fighting against Chris Hedges, former reporter of the New York Times.  And as part of an effort to pass this onerous legislation of the NDAA -- I have a video on my blog NewsDissector.net of the press conference that took place downtown, I was hoping that Kat Waters could join us because she was there to talk a little bit about this because she was there but, you know, this is a really momentous thing that's going on with these drones defining our "national defense," with cyberwar.  You know, I've just written a piece for Al Jazeera about cyberwar and secret directives signed by the president and all the rest of it.  And we have a situation where Joe Scarborough called Obama like an American king who decides personally what our policy should be.  You know this flouts the whole spirit of democracy.  It's a very serious seat of measures, repressive legislation and edicts at the presidential level based on fear of terrorism, fear of cyberwar, fear of American citizens taking action and being able to preemptively arrest people before they even do anything -- you know, commit any crime -- because they may be thinking of committing a crime.  At any rate, the New York Times today has a long story about this.  Chris Hedges, somebody who has been on the show before, who I admire -- there's also a controversy within this controversy because within his legal findings, Chris mentioned that he'd had some contact with the RCP -- the Revolutionary Communist Party -- implying somehow that they're terrorists which, of course, they aren't.  So this is a very complex piece of legislation in which people can become informers against each other and-and the President of the United States, rather than trying to expand internet freedom, expand free speech, is silent on important issues.



Turning to the topic of Iraq, Mary Riddell (Telegraph of London) observes:

In May 2003, soon after Saddam’s effigy fell, the party achieved a lead on the Tories that was not replicated until this week, when Ed Miliband widened his advantage over David Cameron to 12 points. Tony Blair’s equivalent bounce, in the brief moment when the Iraq war seemed won, was quickly drowned in blood and blame. Mindful of once-devoted voters who denounced Mr Blair as a war criminal, Labour strategists are dreading the damage that Iraq may yet wreak on Mr Miliband.
Viewed through a 10-year-old lens, Iraq rates as a debacle on every conceivable matrix, bar the disappearance of a loathsome tyrant. Unwarranted, unwise and unlawful, the conflict ordained the deaths of 179 British service personnel and between 150,000 and 600,000 Iraqi civilians. When statistics are elastic and life so cheap, it is impossible to be precise.
The Blairite dream of reprocessing sectarian rivalries in New Labour’s democracy factory has failed. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki presides over a system riven by violence and corruption, in which the law is a weapon of the powerful and citizens are denied basic services. As the Sunni minority regroups, emboldened by the Syrian war, Iraq hovers on the edge of failed statehood.
[. . .]

Mr Miliband, who has just set up a shadow cabinet sub-committee on liberty and security, is planning an anniversary “intervention” in which he will reiterate that Labour was wrong to take the country to war. However mindful his strategists may be of a humanitarian disaster, they also have an eye on self-interest. Labour has lost “hundreds of thousands of votes” and yet, in the words of a senior figure: “Some Labour MPs still aren’t in the same place as Labour voters.” In other words, they remain unrepentant. If the Iraq anniversary proves damaging, then the Chilcot Inquiry, expected to report next year, will be more toxic by far.



Turning to Camp Liberty, a story that starts with Camp Ashraf.   Approximately 3,400 people were at Camp Ashraf when the US invaded Iraq in 2003.  They were Iranian dissidents who were given asylum by Saddam Hussein decades ago.  The US government authorized the US military to negotiate with the residents.  The US military was able to get the residents to agree to disarm and they became protected persons under Geneva and under international law.

Despite that legal status and the the legal obligation on the part of the US government to protect the residents, since Barack Obama was sworn in as US president, Nouri has ordered not one but two attacks on Camp Ashraf resulting in multiple deaths.  Let's recap.  July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out." Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observes that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."


Under court order, the US State Dept evaluated their decision to place the MEK on the terrorist list and, September 28th, took the MEK off the terrorist list.  Saturday there was an attack on Camp Liberty.  Prensa Latina reports, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release."  CNN explained, "The rocket and mortar attack occurred at Camp Hurriya, a onetime U.S. base formerly known as Camp Liberty, which is now the home of the Iranian exile group Mujahedin-e-Khalq. Accounts of the number of people killed and wounded in the attack vary."  In today's US State Dept press briefing, spokesperson Victoria Nuland was asked about the attack by AFP's Jo Bidell which kicked off questions from others present as well.

MS. NULAND: Okay. Jo.

QUESTION: Can I ask about the attack on Camp Liberty at the weekend?

MS. NULAND: Mm-hmm.

QUESTION: I saw you put out a statement condemning the attack.

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: And I wondered if you had any update from the Iraqi authorities about who they might consider was behind it. And there’s also been some calls, notably from Representative Ros-Lehtinen, for the residents who are in Camp Liberty to be moved back to Camp Ashraf, and I wondered what the United States position was on that.

MS. NULAND: Well, first let just reiterate what we said in our statement at the weekend – you got me speaking British here – over the weekend. The United States condemns in strongest terms the vicious and senseless terror attack that took place at Camp Hurriya which killed seven people and has injured dozens more. We offer our condolences to the family.
Our understanding is that the Government of Iraq has now undertaken to promptly investigate the attack. We call on the Iraqi Government to do so earnestly and to fully carry out this investigation and to take all appropriate measures to enhance the security of the camp, consistent with its commitments and obligations to the safety and security of the residents. The terrorists responsible for this attack must also be brought to justice.
The answer for the individuals at Hurriya is not to relocate back to Ashraf, in our view. The only peaceful and durable solution for these individuals is resettlement outside Iraq, and that should continue to be the focus of everybody involved in this effort. As you know, we are continuing to support the work that the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq and the UNHCR are undertaking to try to work on resettlement of these people.

QUESTION: How much progress is actually being made? Because it has been going on for quite some time now – in resettlement, sorry.

MS. NULAND: Yeah. I mean, I think there are a number of issues here. There are questions of working through the individual dossiers and matching those who are willing to be resettled with recipient countries. So that process is going on, and UNHCR is doing that work now. But there is also the question of continuing to encourage those inhabitants of the camp that resettlement outside of Iraq is the best option, and that’s a message we all need to continue to send.

QUESTION: Toria, are there not still some residents still at Camp Ashraf?

MS. NULAND: I need to check up on that. The last time I checked up into that we still had some 50 to 100 who had declined to move. But I’ll check on that for you, Arshad.

Said.

QUESTION: Is it – just on this –

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: -- calls for people to go back to Liberty from wherever they come from, are those kind of calls helpful at all? This – I mean --

MS. NULAND: To go back to Ashraf, you mean?

QUESTION: Well, yeah, exactly. For an elected member – for a member of Congress – or for anyone in a position of some kind of authority to suggest that MEK people go back to a camp that you went to considerable lengths to get closed down, does that – is that helpful at all in terms of the – your policy and the idea of resettlement, which you’re actively working on, even though you no longer have a point person?

MS. NULAND: Well, we do have point people; they’re just inside the NEA Bureau and the Legal Bureau, rather than in a special office now. But I would simply say that we make the same point privately as I just made publicly to both Americans and Iraqis and international --

QUESTION: Yeah, but it seems to me that this is raising – it’s going to – it makes it more difficult. The MEK leadership has been recalcitrant, to say the least. It took a lot of teeth pulling to get them out and --

MS. NULAND: Yeah.

QUESTION: Just for the record, as far as I know, they’re still not out of Camp Ashraf.

QUESTION: Well, there’s still that residual group, but for the majority of the residents, it took a lot of painstaking work to get that done. And it seems to me that for people now to be saying that they should go back, somehow Ashraf should be reopened, is just completely unhelpful to what you’re trying to do in terms of resettlement.

MS. NULAND: Well, again, the point that I made here is the same point that we make in our private meetings with those who advocate for the MEK, that if they want to see them safe, if they want to see them have a better life, the answer is outside of Iraq.
Said.

QUESTION: How long --

MS. NULAND: Said.

QUESTION: On Camp Liberty, I mean when the site was chosen, everybody knew that it was within range of mortars from Sadr City, probably everybody knows the source of these mortars, without the benefits of the C-RAM that the Americans had there before. So why not resettlement, or in fact, why not urge the Europeans to take many of these residents – I have spoken to them personally – to go back? Some of them are European citizens – to go back to their countries.

MS. NULAND: Well, this is precisely what UNHCR is working on, what we are working on with UNHCR, is to offer as much resettlement opportunity as possible, including in certain cases where there are ties to other countries as well.

QUESTION: Are any of them eligible for resettlement to the United States?

MS. NULAND: In principle, they could be. We are now in the process of evaluating some of the referrals that UNHCR has sent our way, and we’re strongly, as I said, encouraging others to do the same. As UNHCR looks at these individual cases, they make recommendations to resettlement countries. We’re looking at ours.

QUESTION: Have you accepted any?

MS. NULAND: We have not made any decisions yet, Arshad.

QUESTION: Do you think it would be easier for – do you think it might help your argument that other countries should take some if you might take some?

MS. NULAND: Again, this is – usually works best when there is burden sharing. We’re looking at what we can do.


Yesterday, Alsumaria reported that Kurdish Alliance MP Ala Talabani publicly declared that the Iraqi government has an obligation to protest the residents.  Ala Talabani is the niece of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani (who is currently in Germany recovering from a stroke). 

In the failed state of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki is refusing to allow Iraqis from the west to enter their own country's capital.  We noted this development yesterday morning and in yesterday's snapshot.  The non-Iraqi press continues to ignore it with only one except: Jane Arraf (see yesterday's snapshots for her Tweets) who reports for Al Jazeera, the Christian Science Monitor and PRI.  Today, she Tweets.


  1. Back in this evening, anti-aircraft batteries along the river, roadblocks, rumors of a Thursday curfew. That is some scary protest.


Alsumaria reports that there will be a ban on 'roaming' in Baghdad starting Thursday and that "security reasons" are being cited for the curfew that kicks off at midnight tonight and for the refusal to allow 'outsiders' into Baghdad. Dar Addustour adds that security forces have been put on "high alert" and that there is pressure on various mosques in Baghdad not to call for demonstrations on Friday while i.d.s continue to be checked and people from western Iraq are being refused access to Baghdad.  The Iraq Times notes that two military brigades are being used to stop cars attempting to enter Baghdad.

This is all in response to a request, not a threat.  An official request prompted this alarm and panic from Nouri.  From Saturday:

Kitabat reports that yesterday some protesters in Anbar Province announced their intent to march to Baghdad next Friday.  All Iraq News notes National Alliance MP Qasim al-Araji is calling out the plan to stage a sit-in in Baghdad.  The Ministry of Interior (run by Nouri al-Maliki since he never nominated anyone to head it) had its own announcement.  Alsumaria reports that today it was declared their intent to crack down on any protest -- anywhere in the country -- that they felt was a threat or lacked a permit.  Al Mada notes that the spokesperson for the Anbar protests, Sayad Lafi, states that the protesters have written Baghdad seeking permission to pray in the city on Friday and return the same day. 



Alsumaria notes that the National Alliance is calling for the western protesters not to come to Baghdad and that this call follows a hastily put together meet-up in the office of National Alliance leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- a meeting that Nouri personally attended.   Now when provinces wanted to break off -- using the Constitution's provisions for that -- and become semi-autonomous, Nouri told them they couldn't.  But now he won't allow western Iraqis to enter Baghdad, to enter their own capital?

Not only did Nouri attend a meeting at al-Jaafari's office but Alsumaria also reports -- and provides a photo -- that al-Jaafari visited Nouri at Nouri's office late last night.  When you think of all the foot dragging by Nouri over the last weeks, it's rather amazing how motivated he can get out of the fear that Iraqis from outside Baghdad might show up to demonstrate.

All Iraq News reports that late yesterday the Anbar protesters who hope to demonstrate in Baghdad state that they still planned to demonstrate in Baghdad on Friday.   Alsumaria reports that the Anbar Provincial Council is asking the protesters not to go to Baghdad but, they note, the spokesperson for the protesters Said Lafi says they will meet tomorrow to decide what they are going to do.

Alsumaria notes that Iraqiya is decrying the "illegal and arbitrary practices" to prevent Iraqis from Anbar Province from coming to Baghdad.  Iraqiya is the political slate that won the 2010 parliamentary elections.  Ayad Allawi is the head of Iraqiya.

Yesterday, we noted the confusion with regards to Moqtada al-Sadr:

News outlets are reporting conflicting claims regarding the movement leader and cleric.  Al Rafidayn reports that Moqtada has decreed that his followers will not participate in the demonstrations this Friday.  By contrast, All Iraq News reports that Moqtada's called on his supporters to participate in the demonstrations this Friday to show support for the people of Bahrain.  Al Rafidayn states Moqtada called off participation because of Nouri's actions, Nouri issuing a statement through the Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces calling on the Iraqi military to physically stop protesters.

Today, Alsumaria reports Moqtada al-Sadr released a statement saying that he calls for his followers to demonstrate on Friday throughout Iraq following morning prayers and to support the second anniversary of the Bahrain revolution.

The US Embassy in Baghdad issued the following warning:

Emergency Messages for U.S. Citizens
Risk of Terror Attack and Demonstrations
February 11, 2013
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warns U.S. citizens of continued incidents of violence in Iraq, following the February 9 terrorist attack at Camp Hurriya, which killed six people. Attacks, similar to what occurred on February 9, may occur at any time.

In addition, the U.S. Embassy warns U.S. citizens of ongoing demonstrations across the country, which have occasionally turned violent. Citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments, to be vigilant regarding their personal security, and to avoid all demonstrations, particularly after Friday prayers, when most demonstrations have occurred.

The U.S. government considers the potential threat to U.S. Government personnel throughout Iraq to be serious enough to require them to live and work under strict security guidelines. All U.S. Government employees under the authority of the U.S. Chief of Mission must follow strict safety and security procedures when traveling outside the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulates. We urge U.S. citizens to stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Please check our current Travel Warning and Country Specific Information Sheet for further security guidance.

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Iraq enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at www.Travel.State.Gov. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don't have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The Embassy also offers SMS text alerts delivered to your mobile phone when new security and emergency messages are released.

For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State's Internet website at travel.state.gov where the Worldwide Caution, Country Specific Information for Iraq, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts can be found. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well. Download our free Smart Traveler iPhone or Android app to have travel information at your fingertips.

Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

We're about to move to the topic of water but another important development is summed up in a Tweet by AFP's Prashant Rao:

Iraq to sign prisoner deal with UK which could see Danny Fitzsimons serve his life sentence in the UK - 's story:
View summary


In other pressing issues, freshwater is vanishing in Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East.  Sean Patterson (Web Pro News) explains, "The study, to be published this week in the journal Water Resources Research, was based on data from NASA‘s Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellites. The findings show that, starting in 2003, parts of Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Iran in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins lost 144 cubic kilometers (117 million acre feet) of stored freshwater – nearly the same about of water found in the Dead Sea."  John Roach (NBC News) quotes University of California Irvine hydrologist and lead investigator on the study Jay Famiglietti who states, "It is a pretty big water loss.  And (the Middle East) is right up there with some of the most water-stressed regions of the world." e! Science News quotes Famiglietti stating, "They just do not have that much water to begin with, and they're in a part of the world that will be experiencing less rainfall with climate change. Those dry areas are getting drier.  Everyone in the world's arid regions needs to manage their available water resources as best they can."  AFP adds, "Part of the loss was attributed to a 2007 drought that dried out soil and shrank snowpacks, and another part to the loss of surface water from lakes. But most of it -- about 60 percent -- was traced to the pumping of groundwater, which typically increases during and after a drought."



Turning to violence,  Alsumaria reports a tribal leader and his driver were injured in a Baquba roadside bombing, and Sheikh Khaled Ahmed Husein al-Obeidi was shot dead in KirkukAll Iraq News notes that last night a collection server was shot dead in Baghdad, a Baghdad bombing injured a national security officer and a soldier was injured in a Baghdad shooting.  Alsumaria also notes that last night a Mosul home invasion resulted in 4 family members being killed.

Six weeks before the start of the Iraq War, protesters mobilized around the world attempting to stop it before it started.  The three countries whose governments were pushing for the illegal war were the United States, the United Kingdom and Australia.  The leaders of the three countries were Bully Boy Bush, Prime Minister Tony Blair and Prime Minister John Howard.   Let's move over to Australia where today on Mornings with Steve Austin (Australia's ABC -- link is audio), Austin spoke with Just Peace's Annette Brownlie.  Excerpt.


Steve Austin: Do you remember where you were when the planes struck the World Trade Center?  I can exactly.  I can then also remember where I was when the invasion of Iraq started,  I think, three years later, that's what it was. I was standing in the ABC [. . .] and we switched on the TV and all of the sudden the CNN cameras flipped on to Baghdad and they just waited.  And you knew what it meant because you knew that they had the drop, the invasion was about to start.  And I remember there was even an instruction went down from ABC News that it didn't matter what we saw on CNN, we weren't to say or announce that the invasion of Iraq had started because of a whole range of journalistic reasons, I won't bore you with the details.  But that time is seared in my memory.  We did a lot of stories on the Iraq War and spoke with a lot of people ten years ago -- or more -- ten years ago today, I think it is, who were vehemently against the invasion of Iraq.  And, as we now know, there's no evidence that Iraq had any involvement in the attack on the World Trade Center nor that they had a current Weapons of Mass Destruction program  A public forum is being held to mark a tenth demonstration of that protest because it was ten years ago today.  Annette Brownlie is from Just Peace.  Annette, take me back ten years ago today and the march in Brisbane.  Describe it for me, draw on your memory, your mind's eye, and describe it for me if you will.  Morning to you.

Annette Brownlie:   It's all very vivid.  As one of the organizers of that mass protest in Brisbane along with then  lord mayor Jim Soorley, we were at the Roma Street Forum expecting, you know, like in our wildest hopes, seven-to-ten-thousand people.  But that had to be multiplied by ten.  So between seventy and a hundred thousand people came that day.  And, uhm, many of the people that came in by train told me later that they couldn't get on the trains, the trains were packed, they had to wait for the next train.  A lot of people turned up late.  And people were arriving at the Roma Street Forum as the march actually arrived at the Riverstage.  So it -- it was incredible.  We couldn't believe it.   But, you know, people around the world said the same thing.

[. . .]

Steve Austin:  You started protesting at the age of 16 against the Vietnam War.  Does it sadden you that this type of protest is still necessary but still appears to be ineffective?

Annette Brownlie:  It saddens me that it's still necessary, for sure.  You know, in an ideal lifetime, you would see the fruits of your labor.  But, you know, history isn't like that, is it?  It's sometimes  the really big paradigm shifts in human thinking take much longer than one person's lifetime.  And you think about slavery and just how long it took for people to accept that this was wrong.  Think about women's right to vote, it took a long time for that to take off.  And I'm, you know, I see what we do in the peace movement as being a continuum.  And at some point, we're going to realize that wars, indiscriminate killing of people, is a crime and it doesn't achieve what you want and it's criminal activity. 

In England, Great Britain's Socialist Worker speaks with various students about what the protests did for them:

“The school student walkouts were inspiring.
I could see that protesting in solidarity with Iraq meant more to them than simply bunking off.
They learnt more about society in that one day of political action than they would ever learn at school.”
Adam Riaz Khan, school student, London
“15 February was the biggest turnout ever for a demonstration from Preston.
On the way back everyone was just so high. We knew we had been part of something historic.”
Michael Lavalette, Preston Stop the War
“The FBU was one of the first unions to affiliate to the Stop the War Coalition.
The huge opposition to war reassured many firefighters that what we were doing was right.
What was remarkable was the extent to which firefighters themselves opposed the war.
It would be wrong to suggest there was complete unity on the matter—many firefighters come from an armed forces background.
But even many of these could see through the lies and deceit.”
Paul Embury, FBU
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Officially, Canada wasn't part of the Iraq War.  The Canadian government did their part to support illegal war by refusing to grant sanctuary to war resisters.  In December 2003, Joshua Key returned from Iraq on leave and decided to self-check out.  He, Brandi Key (his wife) and their children moved to Philadelphia where they lived 'underground' with Joshua doing welding jobs and Brandi waiting tables.  Jermy Hinzman was the first US war resister to openly go to Canada in the hopes of receiving asylum.  The story of Jeremy Hinzman's war resistance was something Joshua Key learned of online.  In March of 2005, the Key family crossed the border into Candada where Joshua, Brandi and their four children have have made their home since. The Keys continue to fight to stay in Canada.  He explained in Michelle Mason's documentary Breaking Ranks,  "As we got down the Euphrates River and we took a sharp right turn , all we seen was heads and bodies. And American troops in the middle of them saying 'we lost it.'  As soon as I stepped and I walked out the back of my APC, I seen two American soldier kicking the head around like a soccer ball. I stepped right back inside the tank and I told my squad leader . . . 'I won't have no part of this'." He also told his story in the book  The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq.  He was a guest on last week's Global Research News Hour.  Excerpt.


Michael Welch:  You crossed into Canada in 2005 and sought to seek sanctuary here and not have to go back to the US.  Can you tell us a little bit about how that process unrolled?

Joshua Key:  It's been one hell of a roller coaster.  I mean, when I first came here in 2005, it was the liberal government.  Things look very much different.  At the time I came here, I sort of had a decent amount of hope.  Through the years, of course, as everyone knows with the [Prime Minister Stephen] Harper government, things haven't diminished by any means but things have really been a roller coaster -- like I've been in immigration court many times, win one, lose one and then it sort of goes with all of us like that.  We'll all of us will lose, lose, lose and then we'll have one win.  There's, I think, around 30 of us here that are doing the same thing that I am which is in the process of trying to stay in Canada legally and fight the system.  But it has been very, very hard.  I mean there's only a few groups of people that the government has pretty well deemed bogus refugee claimants -- and I mean in a personal manner -- that's been the Roma Gypsies as one and the other has been the war resisters.  And it's become a very hard battle.  They put out bulletins, news bulletin 202 where the government stated that no immigration officials along the whole border regardless are not allowed to grant us any status. So that's made it where we're all here, we're all in the system but yet we're not allowed to work, we don't get health care.  I laugh many times because hearing the the radio news, you know, Minister of Immigration Mr. Kinney makes it seem like all these refugee applicants come here, we live off the system and we're just running everything -- and I think that's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard in my life.

Michael Welch: That sounds quite different from what we've heard about the Vietnam War, very much parallel to the Iraq one, people who could not stomach the idea of going to Vietnam, for legal and moral reasons and they came up here to Canada and were allowed to stay here.  But you're -- your experience has obviously been quite different, eh?

Joshua Long: Yeah, I mean it's a -- You know, everyone says that in those times it was the draft and, yes, it was and that was the big, big difference from now.  In other words, though, people don't understand the poverty draft.  I mean when you're looking at nothing and you have no future and there is nothing?  Like I've said, at that time I was married to my ex-wife, we had three children.  There was no future.  There was nothing.  I mean, it was either, you go work at McDonalds and make nothing and then you go to a recruiter and they make it sound like you're joining the most best establishment in the world: 'You won't have to go to war, you won't have to do this, you won't have to do that.'  And at that time, Afghanistan was going on but in the military's eyes as well as most of my own time in the military, it was a joke.  They didn't see Afghanistan as a war, it was more of a, at that time, a peace keeping mission.  It was a complete -- a complete joke as far as we were concerned at that time.  You know, Iraq hadn't started.  It was -- For what I was being told and what I was being offered, I thought, "Why wouldn't a person?"  I mean, to make a life for yourself, to actually be able to sustain, have steady work?  I wasn't in there for the college money.  I mean that wasn't my deal.  My deal was I wanted steady work and health care for my family.

Michael Welch:  Mmm.  And if I'm not mistaken, here you are in Canada and you're not quite so -- you're really not that well off.  You're still struggling to make ends meet.  Correct?

Joshua Long: Yes. At every given corner.  I'm not allowed to work legally.  It's a give and take.  I mean they don't allow you to work, they don't allow you to have health care.  Me and my wife, who is Canadian, we are in the sponsorship --

Michael Welch: This is a second wife, correct?

Joshua Long:  Yes.  We're in the sponsorship process but still, even within that process, you can't -- nor would we -- but you can't get no government help in any form.  So you have to provide for yourself and you have to do for yourself which makes it very difficult just myself, I'm a skilled welder.  I know that I could be making quite good money in Canada right now in many different places.  But without having the ability to be allowed to work, you can't -- you can't produce nothing.

Michael Welch:  Mmm.

Joshua Key:  And also the health care situation.  Like I go to an emergency room, most people don't understand this, I go to the emergency room, they don't take me in and do what needs to be done.  They look at me and say I've got to have $500 before I can even let you go in the back.  And when you don't have any money, that means you're not going to the emergency room.  I see how good it is from my wife and my children here because that's an awesome system to where they get whatever they need covered.  They walk into an emergency room and they get seen.  It's quite different from myself, but it goes to all the refugees and all the people applying for refugee status in Canada with the changes that have been made to the IFH -- Internal Federal Health -- it's very damaging to what it has done to all and I worry about all people that are within the processes of -- the health of everyone because when they did that and they took that away, that put a very much -- and also another thing that the Harper government stated that was going to save taxpayers so much money, so much money.  When boiled down to it, it save the individual taxpayer three cents to keep these, uh, --

Michael Welch: Refugees?

Joshua Key: -- refugee applicants with at least the essential health care that they needed.

Michael Welch:  And it's not just people who are US vets, it's refugees across the board.

Joshua Key: Exactly, that's all the way across the board.



Lastly, in the United States, the Feminist Majority Foundation has issued the following:

For Immediate Release: February 12, 2013

Contact:
Kari Ross
kross@feminist.org
703.522.2214

SENATE LEADS THE WAY AND PASSES A STRONG VAWA
The Senate, by a wide margin of 78-22, passed a strong inclusive Violence Against Women Reauthorization Act today. All 55 Democratic Senators and 23 Republican Senators voted to pass a bill that will strengthen protections for students, immigrants, Native American women, the LGBT community, and also aid victims of sex trafficking.
Eleanor Smeal, President of the Feminist Majority Foundation, remarked, "Although the Tea Party, Heritage Action, and FreedomWorks tried to politicize VAWA, the Senate led the way for common sense to prevail. VAWA works. Its prevention provisions work to reduce incidents of domestic violence, date violence, sexual assault and stalking crimes and its protective provisions help the victims of these crimes. Now the House must act immediately and pass the inclusive Senate reauthorization with a bipartisan vote. It currently has 194 cosponsors in the House. The political games that have caused well over a year's delay in passing this VAWA Reauthorization must stop. VAWA has been and must remain a bipartisan effort. Violence against women cannot, must not be politicized, trivialized, or tolerated."
Although Heritage Action, the 501(c)(4) affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, and Freedom Works announced they were scoring the VAWA vote, giving any Senator who voted for VAWA negative marks, three-fourths of the Senate defied the threat and voted yes. Though some opponents argue VAWA is vague, the act is very specific . VAWA deals with felony and misdemeanor crimes of violence including domestic violence, sexual assault, date violence, stalking, and sex trafficking. It even has clauses to protect against family violence such as child and elder abuse.
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feminist majority foundation