Wednesday, November 16, 2016

The war on truth tellers

That's the war that's been going on throughout the Barack Obama presidency.


You've had whistleblowers attacked by the government like Ed Snowden and Chelsea Manning.

You've had reporters attacked.

Listen to audio of a new Barrett Brown interview from prison: "The rule of law is a myth." 25 days until a




Barrett Brown's one of the attacke.d  I really wonder about the likes of Debra Messing.


I'm serious her health is a big question mark.

Her mental health anyway.

She acts like daisies have been sprouting throughout the land and lolly pops have been dispensed by the government.

Does she not know the name Ed Snowden?

Does she not give a damn about Chelsea Manning?

I say pardon Chelsea, pardon Ed, pardon Barrett and, yes, pardon Julian Assange.

I think the whole Assange matter has gone on long enough.

I think Barack revealed his hand when he had the Bolivian plane forced down because he thought Julian was on it.

I'm tried of all this nonsense.


Free them all.

Reward the truth tellers.

And down with the whores.


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


Wednesday, November 16, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, the lies of the US election continue, an idiot proposes it is sexist to criticize Hillary Clinton -- at least right now, let us grieve, let us grieve, and other nonsense.



Starting with the US election so many of us were tired of before it happened and remain tired of now. There are real issues effecting lives right now and it's must be so very nice to be an American citizen unconcerned with the wars your government is currently actively carrying out.


The ridiculous Angelina Chapin (HUFFINGTON POST) tries to pretend she's a feminist (she's not) and ties criticism of War Hawk, corporatist and scandal magnet Hillary Clinton to sexism:

I think every liberal woman has broken down at some point in the past week.  For me, it was at 2 a.m. on Wednesday when I called my boyfriend and wept.



If you think every liberal woman cried, then you're not only a bad columnist, you live in a tiny and terrifying bubble.

As Demi Moore said THE BUTCHER'S WIFE, "Well you ought to get out more."

Angelina goes on to whine that Hillary has "30 years of political experience."

No, she has 12 years -- she was a US senator for 8, she was Secretary of State for 12.  First Lady is not political experience.  Especially now that women have opportunities, we no longer need to pretend that 'woman behind the man' is experience.

And non-feminist Hillary sneered so at First Lady that she insisted she would give Bill things to do as First Spouse so that he wouldn't have to plan dinners, etc.  In other words, Hillary said, "That's women's work."  And only a few of us feminists took the time to call her out on it.

She takes Thomas Frank to task for calling Hillary a "party hack."  I'm no fan of Thomas Franks (I hope I've been fair to him but I'm not a fan of his).  But Thomas Frank's criticism of Hillary did not begin today, this month or even this year.  And it has nothing to do with sexism.

Were Angelina a feminist, she'd grasp that.  But she's just another whiner trying to play the woman card to get her way.

She insists that "when you inflict your analysis on a woman who is devastated that Americans just elected a man who considers her subhuman, you are being sexist.  Plain and simple."

Angelina, grow the f**k up.

Plain and simple.

Crawl back, crying, to your safe space, try to create the illusion of being in the womb if it helps.

But stop kidding that you're about feminism.

Women want to run for political office (and have and are).

There's no "Oh, but it's a girl so shut up with the criticism."

That's not feminism.

That's sexist.

We can handle it.

We get pushed around and pushed down every day.  Like many Americans.

And we get back up.

And we pull ourselves together and we go on.

If we want to compete in political races, we can't whine, "Oh, the results hurt my tender little girl bits and feelings so nobody can say anything!!!!"

People can say whatever they want, first of all, in a democracy.

Second of all, you need to grow the hell up and you need to toughen the hell up.

I'm embarrassed, as a feminist, that you chose to publish that crap.

Your nonsense is as pathetic today as Gloria Steinem's b.s. in REVOLUTION FROM WITHIN about how she saw her future as running a diner and there's a table in there where women can whisper and talk alone.  That's not radical.  Taking the conversation to the public square isn't even radical -- it's just democracy.

While we're mentioning Gloria Steinem -- who started her career as a CIA operative -- as THE NEW YORK TIMES recently noted and refused her request for a correction because it is true (and she used to brag about it before she suddenly became a feminist) . . .


She at least got her overall theme right -- don't mourn, organize -- in her recent GUARDIAN column.

(Though I would have said, don't wallow, organize.)


Hillary didn't change any rules in the political game.  Gloria's dead wrong on that and the speeches Hillary gave to Wall Street back that up.

Gloria, for those who are too young to know, appointed herself a feminist leader and had her friends in the media join her with that.  It's how she leaped ahead of women who'd written books on feminism, given speeches, done activism, how she leaped ahead of entire collectives of women.

She's never done much for women.  Since 1976, she's actively undercut women at every Democratic Party convention -- usually with regards to the party's platform.  This is documented and if you don't know it, you didn't bother to educate yourself.

She can't hide those actions.  Through the threat of lawsuits and bullying, she was once able to hide the CIA past that she's previously confessed to.

Gloria's still thinking she can get away with rewriting history.  In her column, she insists:

In 1972, I ran as a delegate pledged to congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, a candidate for the presidency. 

You did run, Gloria, but you lost.  A detail you leave out.

More to the point, not only was Gloria not a delegate for Shirley, she didn't support Shirley.

From Jackson Landers piece for THE SMITHSONIAN earlier this year:


“Feminists were split over her candidacy,” recalls Gottlieb. “Gloria Steinem, who you would expect to have supported her, supported McGovern instead. That was significant and it hurt on a personal level quite a bit. . . .you can’t look at 1972 through the same magnifying glass as 2016. Having a woman run for President was like having somebody from Mars run for President. And you then have a black woman running for president and everybody, all interest groups, were grappling with ‘how do you deal with such a changed landscape?’ People were not comfortable with having a black woman. And she often said, between being black and being a woman, the biggest problem was being a woman.”

So just stop grandstanding, Gloria.

And stop lying.

The media anointed her leader and helped her push out "old" Betty Friedan.

Betty was 52 when Gloria and her cronies shoved Betty aside insisting that "young blood" was needed.

Gloria's now 82 and has refused to step aside or to elevate any other woman because she's going to die holding on to the title the media created for her.


Actress Jane Fonda appeared with Gloria recently.  A friend started to tell me about it and I stopped her saying I couldn't deal with the stupidity right now.  She insisted (good for her) and it turns out Jane actually made sense. From CNN:


"I am very grateful for the time that I lived in Georgia. I learned so much," Fonda said. "And one of the most important things that l learned was the importance of listening to people who you don't agree with, with an open heart."
And that's what needs to happen now, she said.
"I know that we all didn't vote for the same people," Fonda told the crowd. "And we have to, as women, we have to have each others' backs, no matter who we voted for. We have to listen carefully."



Those are smart words.  Maybe they're a step back to activism?  Something Jane spent the last 8 years forgetting?

And I'm saying "actress" and not "actress and activist" -- as she bills herself -- because the Iraqi people have never forgotten her grandstanding January 2007 speech in DC where she claimed she would not be silent or stop fighting until the Iraq War was over.

Then Barack was elected and the issue never mattered to her again.

On actresses, Susan Sarandon.

Angelina Chapin is just so upset by negative criticism of Hillary.

It's so mean.

And what are the outright attacks on Jill Stein and Susan Sarandon?

Jill ran for president.  As Ann  -- a born and bred Green Party member from day one --  pointed out maybe Jill's supporters should be cursing out Hillary's crowd for refusing to support a woman who was against endless war, for the environment and for the people.

In other words, Hillary cost Jill Stein the election.  (Jill's run has resulted in the Green Party getting ballot access on 12 more states in the 2020 election.)


Debra Messing is a psycho, a lousy actress, star of three failed TV shows and a bully online.

She hates Susan Sarandon.  She lied about her months ago to start a Twitter war and get a little bit of fame in the hopes NBC wouldn't cancel her show.  (They did.  Largely because the hate she was spewing in her Twitter feed at that time was alienating viewers and NBC was getting tons of complaints -- and Ava and I warned about it when it started, we wrote about it at THIRD as soon as NBC suits told us and Debra still didn't cool it.  So she cost a crew, the cast and others jobs because she couldn't stop spewing her hate.)

She's still hating on Susan Sarandon.


Send it to .






Debra's an idiot.  (I love the "my understanding" Tweet regarding contacting Congress -- did you miss out on third grade, Debra?)

She just can't stop going after Susan nor can "I forgot because I'm ill" Kurt Eichenwald (see Betty's "Crazy Debra Messing" for a good laugh on that loser).


JESUS CHRIST. NOW she wants to give racist, islamophobic, homophobic, sexist,mysogynists a chance!"Pure" 4 Bernie. F[**]K everyone else.







Are Kurt and Debra going to buy food for the people they're trying to put out of jobs.

If you missed it, if the head of a company endorsed Donald Trump or gave money to his campaign, Debra's started a campaign to put them out of business.

How many thousands of people is Debra trying to put on the unemployment line?

Chances are, if you own the business, you'd be okay if it went under -- you should have diversified your portfolio.

But if you work for the business, where are you going to find a job elsewhere.

You could argue Debra's crackpot scheme is racist since African-Americans still have a larger unemployment rate in this un-recovered economy.

Debra and her ilk need to grasp people like Ann.

She is a Green.

She was raised that way.

Ann has never voted Democrat in her life (or Republican) and she never plans to.

But because she's a woman and African-American, Debra's racist thinking is that Ann owes the Democratic Party a vote?

Not only is the Green Party a valid party for any American to choose to vote for, it's also now a party with people being born into it.  Just as the Iraq War has gone on so long you have people who were in first grade when it started already having finished high school, the Green Party has been around so long now that there are people who are raised in Green families the same way people have been raised in Democratic families and Republican families.


So before someone laments poor feelings again and calls for safe spaces, they better curb Debra and get her shots.

And, for the record, I'm not a bully.

I'm a bitch.

There's a big difference.

One difference?  A bully tries to put you out of business.  A bitch just warns you that if you don't calm down your Twitter feed the corporation paying you money is about to drop you.  And after Ava and I warned on Sunday and it was confirmed on Monday, the actress learned to drop the hate (not the politics, just the hate).



Atrocious - President-elect Trump wants to put the architects of the Iraq War back in charge of our foreign policy.





You know what's atrocious?

US House Rep Barbara Lee did nothing to stop the Iraq War or the Afghanistan War under Barack.  On the Afghanistan War, she was always resetting the clock, "If President Obama hasn't ___ by ___, I'm going to propose . . ."

Marriage to him?

Because she never proposed to end a war.

She was in the Democratic controlled House in 2009 and 2010.  Democrats also controlled the Senate.

The only way to stop the War Hawks was to do a Congressional investigation into the lies of the Iraq War.

They elected not to.

For numerous reasons.

So don't come crying now that people whose behavior you tolerated and, yes, normalized are now likely to be back in government.  A full and public investigation would have ended that.  You didn't call for one, Barbara Lee.


For the Democrats -- as many e-mails from Iraqis are currently noting -- it was "move on" about the Iraq War -- a luxury that the Iraqi people did not have.  But on this election, as the e-mails from Iraqis keep pointing out, Americans want to whine.

Gloria Steinem, he is your president.  I've got 15 e-mails in the last 24 hours alone from Iraqis stating that he is your president, Donald Trump, and you are responsible for what is done in his name the same way you were for Barack Obama (I agree) and the same way you were for Bully Boy Bush (I don't use the p-word for BBB, he was gifted with the oval office by the Supreme Court).



In Iraq, the war continues, the tragedies continue, the War Crimes continue.


Iraq: At least one fighter executed after he surrendered.









And let's dedicate this snapshot to John Stauber who keeps telling truth.  Taking on the nonsense at Huff-n-Puff and Gloria's nonsense inspired by John's latest COUNTERPUNCH article.










ADDED at 5:43 pm est on 11/16/16:

The following community sites updated:




  • iraq


    Tuesday, November 15, 2016

    Why, Jesus, why!!!!

    If we can move on from the election for a moment . . .

    Inhumans?

    They're going to do a spin off to MARVEL AGENTS OF SHIELD?

    Why?

    It takes them forever to get the show started each year.

    It's one of the most poorly plotted shows.

    And we hang in because we like the characters and we know it will get better as the year goes along (and really suck when the season finale rolls around).

    Now you're going to take this Marvel creative team that can barely handle one show and give them another?

    Why?

    I have a feeling the quality's going to drop so fast.

    Like when Shonda Rhimes started developing HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER and SCANDAL sunk into the toilet.

    It sunk so low that when the show comes back on -- in the new year -- it will be the show's final season.

    Now back to the election:


    1. Some Bernie delegates and outside protesters were literally chanting "Hillary for Prison" -- Democrats never got how truly loathed she was
    2. Remember, the 2016 Dem convention was the most raucous and "disunited" since 1968, but the media didn't cover it
       
    3. Remember when we were told that "disunity" among Democratic voters wouldn't be a problem for HRC in the general election?




    They should choke on their hubris.

    They wouldn't listen.

    Lastly, Senator Patty Murry for Senate Minority Leader.

    She voted against the Iraq War.

    Read below for more.

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


    Tuesday, November 15, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, the refugee situation grows worse, if Hillary supporters are so bothered by sexism why aren't they calling for a woman to be named Senate Minority Leader, and much more.


    Yesterday afternoon, US President Barack Obama held a press conference (transcript and video at the link -- video also below).





    Rebecca shared her thoughts on it in "i offer some praise of barack."

    As she observed, Barack did not come off scripted and was all the more effective as a result.

    He seemed to be reflecting as he answered.




    Obama implicitly repudiated Hillary yesterday with this remark. Brutal.

     
     
     


    Maybe Hillary should have gone to Wisconsin while campaigning in the general election?


    Not only did she not step foot in it, she also really didn't advertise in it.


    Zooming in on the same remarks Michael Tracy did, Sophie Radvan (HOLLYWOOD LIFE) shares, "Barack's messages towards Donald lately have been so positive as he urges Americans to give him one chance at presidency, but when it comes to Hillary, he sounds a little disappointed in her."


    No one appears to notice, but Barack also got in a rebuke to Hillary and her 2008 ad about being ready when the call comes at 3:00 a.m.



    The US Congress will be changing shape -- or at least formation -- as well.  In the House, there is a move to dispose Nancy Pelosi.

    Pelosi came to power as House Minority Leader in 2003 by, among other things, using photos of an event one of her rivals held in ____ , __ in 1992 -- yes, her people dug that far back -- which showed volunteers who'd spent the day block walking for the Clinton-Gore ticket drinking booze -- some of the drinkers were under 18.

    People questioned how Pelosi could remain as leader of the Democrats in the House after the appalling 2010 election -- when they lost control of the House?

    Because Pelosi's camp knows how to find the ugly.  Negative is how they roll.

    But there's a serious push back against Nancy currently.

    Those quick to paint it as a good v. bad battle should rethink.

    Nancy's stubborn and pig headed but she's no worse on larger issues than those vying to take her place.

    Republicans also held onto control in the Senate.


    Corruption, sex scandals and a nasty trick with a mean punch led to Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid retiring.   Chuck Schumer out of New York is one person vying for the position.


    Schumer, the likely Senate minority leader, voted for the Iraq War and the Patriot Act, and has defended torture.
     
     
     




    WYNC reports there was a protest outside Schumer's NYC office.  The protesters, like this HUFFINGTON POST columnist, are arguing Bernie Sanders must get the post.

    Problem: Bernie's an independent.


    Bigger problem . . .

    A leadership position is open.

    Hmm.

    I thought Democrats were whining that Hillary was the victim of sexism.

    I'd argue Democrats are sexists.  (I identify as a feminist and as a member of the left.  With the Dems supporting one war after another, they've lost me.)

    Patty Murray is the most qualified member of the Senate for leadership.

    Why isn't she being named?

    Hey Debra Messing and you other loons, why the hell aren't you championing Patty Murray.

    She fought for veterans.  She's done an outstanding job as Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and, prior to that, as Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.  She's served in the Senate since 1992 and she has a record of not getting flustered and being even tempered.  She is a leader.

    But everyone rushes to name a man to the post?

    While whining that sexism cost Hillary the presidency?

    Sexism cost Hillary the nomination in 2008.

    It did not cost her the presidency in 2016.

    But if you think it did, all the more reason to insist that a woman become Senate Majority Leader.

    There's never been a woman in that position.  Nancy Pelosi is the only woman that's ever been House Majority Leader or House Minority Leader in the House of Representatives.

    If you think Hillary suffered because America's not ready for a female president, then it's your job to help make the country ready by showing women in Congressional leadership.


    Either start insisting on a woman for the post or stop claiming sexism cost Hillary the presidency.

    Let's hop back to Barack's speech yesterday:


    Finally, on a personal note, Michelle and I want to offer our deepest condolences to Gwen Ifill’s family and to all of you, her colleagues, on her passing.  Gwen was a friend of ours.  She was an extraordinary journalist.  She always kept faith with the fundamental responsibilities of her profession -- asking tough questions, holding people in power accountable, and defending a strong and free press that makes our democracy work.
    I always appreciated Gwen’s reporting, even when I was at the receiving end of one of her tough and thorough interviews.  Whether she reported from a convention floor or from the field, whether she sat at the debate moderator’s table or at the anchor desk, she not only informed today’s citizens, but she also inspired tomorrow’s journalists.  She was an especially powerful role model for young women and girls who admired her integrity, her tenacity, and her intellect -- and for whom she blazed a trail as one-half of the first all-female anchor team on network news.
    So Gwen did her country a great service.  Michelle and I join her family and her colleagues, and everybody else who loved her in remembering her fondly today.



    Mitt Romney's also singing Condi's praises.  I'm sure Condi Rice is as well.

    I'm not.

    I won't pretend she's anything worth praising and call into question the intellectual capacity of people claiming she is.

    Dropping back to the October 8, 2007 snapshot -- and we're starting a bit ahead to remind everyone of the incident with Blackwater killing Iraqi civilians:


    Paul von Zielbauer (New York Times) reports that the Iraqi government has finalized their investigation and "found that employees of the American security company Blackwater USA shot unprovoked at Iraqi civilians at a downtown traffic circle three weeks ago, an episode that killed 17 people and wounded more than 20 others, a government spokesman said Sunday"  quoting Ali al-Dabbagh who also declares that Blackwater's vehicles were not "even hit by a stone" before Blackwater initiated the slaughter of Iraqi civilians.  James Glanz and Alissa J. Rubin (New York Times) add, "Those conclusions contradict Blackwater's original statement on the shooting, which said that a convoy operated by the company's guards 'acted lawfully and appropriately in response to a hostile attack.' The Iraqi findings are also at odds with initial assertions by the State Department that the convoy had received small-arms fire."  Which again goes the issue that the US State Dept has repeatedly provided cover and falsehoods in order to protect Blackwater.  AP reports, "Iraqi authorities want the U.S. government to sever all contracts in Iraq with Blackwater USA within six months and pay $8 million in compensation to each of the families of 17 people killed when the firm's guards sprayed a traffic circle with heavy maching gun fire last month."
     
     
    Naomi Klein's new book The Shock Doctrine: The Rise Of Disaster Capitalism and she uses the book and the research for her article "Disaster Capitalism: The new economy of catastrophe" (October's Harper's magazine, pp. 47 -- 58).  this is from the article (page 48):
     
    Everywhere in Iraq, the wildly divergent values assigned to different categories of people are on crude display.   Westerners and their Iraqi colleagues have checkpoints at the entrances to their streets, blast walls in front of their houses, body armor, and private security guards on call at all hours.  They travel the country in menacing armored convoys, with mercenaries pointing guns out the windows as they follow their prime directive to "protect the principal."  With every move they broadcast the same unapologetic message: We are the chosen, our lives are infinitely more precious than yours.  Middle-class Iraqis, meanwhile, cling to the next rung down the ladder: they can afford to buy protection from local militias, they are able to ransom a family member held by kidnappers, they may ultimately escape to a life of poverty in Jordan.  But the vast majority of Iraqis have no protection at all.  They walk the streets exposed to any possible ravaging, with nothing between them and the next car bomb but a thin layer of fabric.  In Iraq, the lucky get Kevlar; the rest get prayer beads.
     
    That's pretty clear.  Except to the mainstream.  Over the weekend on PBS' Washington Week (or Washington Weak) Linda Robinson of US News and World Reports decided to chat and chew the topic with star Gwen:
     
    Linda Robinson:  Well Blackwater has about 800 people who are primarily providing bodyguard service to the embassy personnel.  And there are about, well there are some thousands of other contractors doing this exact kind of job.  So they're moving around the city in convoys and they apply very aggressive tactics in general.  There are some who are alleging that Blackwater in particular uses much more aggressive tactics.  But let's just set the stage a little bit.  Very, very violent city.  You're driving around, bombs are going off, at any unpredicted time.  So what happens is these convoy drivers uses a tactic: they throw things at people, they sound their horns their sirens if you don't get out of the way they will shoot.  So Iraqi drivers generally pull over as soon as they see a convoy.  The problem is SUVs cannot readily be identified often from a distance --
     
    Gwen Ifill: Yeah, how do you know it's a convoy?  How do you know it's not the military?  How do you know -- tell the difference?
     

    That's the problem.  Washington Weak tells you that's the problem.  For the record, Robinson informs Gwen that it's very obvious when it's the military and it's only confusing when it comes to civilian contractors.  So the question is, were Linda Robinson or Gwen to be walking to their cars at the start of the day and a car came zooming through with those in it throwing things at them, would they see that as a problem?  Should Jon Stewart attempt to find out for The Daily Show?  In fact, it shouldn't even be a surprise.  Gwen and Robinson should volunteer for it to prove what good sports they are.  After ten to fifteen minutes of drive-bys where water bottles are hurled at them (the mildest object usually cited in press reports) from speeding cars, let's see their smiling, bruised (possibly bloodied?) faces and find out whether they now think that "the problem" includes a great deal more than being able to tell if a convoy is approaching?  What's really appalling is Robinson admits to being selective in her report explaining that's why she "set up" because, apparently, reporters are not supposed to show any sympathy for the civilian populations they are allegedly covering but instead are supposed to be act as a p.r. hack for multi-billion dollar corporations.  And the chat and chew only got worse as it was wondered if this was all just sour grapes due to Blackwater's "success"?




    Were I to note the passing of Gwen, I'd do it by throwing water bottles at her coffin as it was carried to the grave.

    I still remember Gwen laughing on air during that segment.

    Iraqis were dead and Gwen found the whole thing amusing.

    Now Gwen's dead.

    I won't mourn her.


    In his speech yesterday, Barack also declared:


    We have challenges internationally, but our most immediate challenge with respect to ISIL, we're seeing significant progress in Iraq, and Mosul is now increasingly being retaken by Iraqi security forces supported by us.  Our alliances are in strong shape. 



    The Mosul operation is now on day 29.  It's a slog.

    More importantly, there's nothing beyond military.

    There's been no effort to plan for post-Mosul.

    The culture, the identity, of the city itself is in shreds.

    What emerges?

    And how will whatever merges get along with the Baghdad-based government which has persecuted Mosul and its leaders for ten years now?

    That's not progress.

    Nor is this:




    IOM Iraq: Displacement Tops 56,000 as Military Operations Continue -

     
     
     




    Let's go back to the US to note veterans.


    . "Since 2003, demand for women's services at the VA have gone up 80%." For more info, visit
     
     
     



    And this demand is completely expected.  Has the VA kept up with this expectation would be a solid question to ask.

    They apparently have still not addressed the issue of wait times.


    Another Iowa Veteran Suicide After Family Says He Was Told to Wait for Treatment by VA |
     
     
     



    The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley -- updated:








  • iraq