Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Howie needs to be better

I am supporting Howie Hawkins for president in the Green Party primary.  If he gets the nomination, I will be supporting him in the general election.

Not everyone feels the same.



Dave's point.

I see his point.

I want candidates that run real races.  I want candidates to run to win.  Howie should be making statements like that and not the 5% comments.  I also get that he's running to help build a foundation for the Green Party and that's necessary as well.

I get Dave's point and I don't want to dismiss it.  It's an important point.  That's one reason I didn't hop on Howie at the start after Bernie dropped out.  I was for Dario Hunter, or at least leaning towards him.  But Dario doesn't know how to campaign.

Howie does.

He needs to be a better candidate.

We need to call him out for any statement he makes that suggests he's not a real candidate.

If I wanted a politician that I couldn't call out and had to lie for, I'd back Joe Biden.

Howie is not above criticism and he needs to be a better candidate.  We need to demand that he's a better candidate.

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


Wednesday, June 24, 2020.  Mustafa al-Kahimi plans to visit the US in July, Turkey continues bombing Iraq, RISING is trying to do what exactly?, and much more.

The biggest news out of Iraq today?  That the prime minister is coming to the United States.  Lawk Ghafuri (RUDAW) reports:

Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi will visit Washington next month to attend high-level talks between the United States and Iraq, foreign minister Fuad Hussein revealed on Tuesday.
Kadhimi's visit will begin the second round of strategic dialogue talks between the US and Iraq that are the first of their kind in more than a decade. They aim to put all bilateral issues on the table, including the faltering Iraqi economy and the possible withdrawal of US troops.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on April 8 that the US and Iraq plan to hold meetings starting in mid-June to discuss several matters, including “the future presence of the United States forces in [the] country and how best to support an independent and sovereign Iraq,” Pompeo said at a Washington press briefing on April 8.
Hussein revealed the planned visit to Washington while receiving UN envoy Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in Baghdad on Tuesday to discuss the strategic dialogue, among other topics.
The most obvious issue this raises is: Optics.  Iraq is struggling with the coronavirus.  Every day seems to bring a new high in the numbers of reported cases and reported dead.  

President Donald Trump has unwisely gone around without any form of mask.  Will Mustafa wear a mask?  If he doesn't, he'll be refusing to curry favor with Donald.  He'll also be sending a lousy message to the Iraqi people. So the most interesting thing about the visit may be the photographs which inform us whether or not Mustafa wears a mask.

Should Mustafa not wear a mask, you can expect this statement he Tweeted to be thrown in his face:

Ahmed Radhi passed away wearing the green jersey, which we all loved watching him wear. May he rest in peace. The life of every Iraqi is precious. Let’s adhere to health precautions to protect ourselves and our communities, until we get through this difficult time together.
5:59 AM · Jun 21, 2020

Ahmed Radhi is the football legend who passed away days ago from the coronavirus.  

Second, this is a rather quick meeting.  May 7th, Mustafa became prime minister.  Two months later he'll be in DC with the President of the United States. 

Some administrations (Barack Obama's) would wait a bit to see where the prime minister stands.  But Mustafa is supposed to be a brief prime minister so there's really not any time to wait -- especially if you need to figure out how many US troops you're going to leave in Iraq while claiming another "withdrawal."  The US Defense Dept refused to call the end of 2011 a "withdrawal" because it wasn't a withdrawal.  They called it a draw down.  That had to do with the reality -- which the late Senator Kay Hagan explained in an open hearing and we reported on it in real time.  THE NEW YORK TIMES, among others, were more concerned with whether or not John McCain had hurt Leon Panetta's feelings.  Excuse me, they were more concerned with creating a story that Leon's feelings were hurt by John.  That was not the case and that was clear by the second hour of that hearing but if NYT couldn't lie to the American people, it wouldn't have survived this long.  (That's the really US press story -- from THE HOUSTON POST to MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS, tell the truth and disappear.)  

Barack just ignored the Defense Dept's use of "drawdown."  Donald's much more confrontational.  If he's using "withdrawal" and it's actually a drawdown (meaning troops remain in Iraq and in surrounding areas like Kuwait -- prepared to re-enter), is Donald going to start firing people?

Again, the meeting is happening quickly.  Donald's going to spend some of his political capital on this visit and he's prepared to do so because he wants a drawdown.  (If Donald secures a withdrawal, we will gladly note that and I will gladly credit it but too many politicians have lied about ending the Iraq War and we'll play wait and see.)  But how much is too much to spend?

Because Mustafa's already struggling with being perceived as weak and ineffective.  It took months for Adel Abdul Mahdi to earn that reputation but Mustafa's got it fresh out of the gate.


First clear constitutional violation by Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s new government: the removal of the Kurdish language from official documents and papers in breach of Article 4 which declares Kurdish as an official language of Iraq

Kadhimi removes Kurdish language from its official papers: Kurdish MPs
The Iraqi constitution designates Kurdish an official language alongside Arabic.




#Corruption become more dangerous and deadly, in #Iraq , with Mustafa Al-Kadhimi taking over as prime minister. Weak personalities, easy to manipulate from Iranian militias like Hashd . #coronavirus



Weak personalities?  Mustafa has yet to call out the Turkish government for terrorizing Iraq.  Why is that?


Turkish President congratulates Iraq’s new Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Turkey’s National Defence Minister Hulusi Akar also talked with Kadhimi via phone according to official stament of Iraq. *#NOTE: Turkey fully supported his efforts of becoming PM of Iraq.


Long seen by the Iranian government as a tool of the US, Mustafa also has some pretty close ties to Turkey.



 The geopolitics are complex, but they are also crude. Turkey has clout; President Erdoğan has several cards to play.
Card one: refugees. Turkey is host to 3.5 million refugees, many of whom would rather go to Europe. For Erdoğan they are a weapon that can be unleashed at any time on the EU and its neighbours. The countries of Europe have domestic, populist, political imperatives for keeping migrants out that trump humanitarian (and economic) reasons for letting them in.
Card two: Turkey is a powerful member of NATO, with the second-largest army of all members and housing 50 US nuclear bombs. It’s the world’s fifth-largest buyer of arms, 60 per cent coming from the US and plenty from the UK, France, Spain and Russia.
Turkey also invests lavishly in lobbying power, spending $6.6 million on influencing the US government in 2018. It is seen as a tricky but strategic ally in the US’s so-called ‘war on terror’ – even though it is supporting jihadist militants with al-Qaeda connections.
Card three: Turkey has nation-state power. Nation states have a mutual understanding. They can have their own armies, without being called terrorists. They can lock up journalists and political opponents, and still be welcome at the table of world democracies. They can displace thousands of citizens and still be courted as a valuable trading partner.


Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein on Tuesday renewed his country's rejection and condemnation of the Turkish attacks on targets in northern Iraq.
Hussein's comments came during his meeting with the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Iraq Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert in his office in the Foreign Ministry at the edge of the Green Zone in central Baghdad, a ministry statement said.
Hussein underlined the need "to stop such violations by the Turkish side, considering the attacks as violating the international covenants and laws," the statement said.
Also on Iraq, MEMO notes:

The Iraqi government is currently preparing for “early legislative elections” to complete the country’s sustainable constitutional establishment, Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, announced yesterday.
Speaking in a meeting with the United Nations Special Representative for Iraq, Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, Al-Kadhimi said that it is “important to have international support and cooperation in the preparation phase.”

That's what Mustafa is supposed to preside over and why he was made prime minister.  These elections will determine not only who serves in Parliament but also who will be prime minister.

In the US?  What is the value of RISING?  Watch the clip below and answer that please.



The rolled eyes and the snarky tones from Krystal?  Does she think she has a high horse to ride?  She doesn't.  Why the hell are they mentioning Philippe Reines?  If there's a reason to mention that vile man, it's to educate your audience.  Reines had harassment complaints against him when he worked under Hillary at the State Dept and Michael Hastings threw that up in his face.  If you're going to talk about the priss-pot, talk about him.  He's a menace and that's the only reason to mention him.

Second, this whole thing about Bernie and his supporters?  What supporters?

He betrayed them and most are gone.  If you're truly a news outlet, Krystal act like you're part of one.  That means making clear that Bernie doesn't 'own' people.  There were people who supported the ideas and the platform he ran on.  Then the coward dropped out.  Then the coward endorsed Joe Biden.  Bernie has nothing to command and it's stupid to think he does.  





We'll close with this news from MS. MAGAZINE:



We are so excited to announce the launch of Ms. magazine's very first podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin! 
You read Ms. online and in print. You follow along on social media. Now, keep up with the feminist movement and even more of Ms.’s substantive, unique reporting with your new favorite podcast. 
Tune in for our premiere episode on Tuesday, June 30 on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts or MsMagazine.com. 
Get a sneak peek of the feminist analysis, insightful conversations and exciting guests to come: a trailer is available now! We hope you’ll give it a listen, subscribe and rate the podcast. 
On the Issues is a show where we report, rebel, and tell it like it is. Join host Dr. Michele Goodwin as she and special guests tackle the most compelling issues of our times, centering your concerns about rebuilding our nation and advancing the promise of equality. 
Listen to a trailer for On the Issues with Michele Goodwin now — on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
And we’d love if you help spread the word, too! The number one thing you can do to help the Ms. magazine podcast reach new listeners? Subscribe and rate the podcast on Apple. Let’s show the power of independent, feminist media! 
Meet Your On the Issues Host: Dr. Michele Goodwin is a frequent contributor to Ms. magazine and on MsMagazine.com. She is a Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine and also serves on the executive committee and national board of the ACLU. Dr. Goodwin is a prolific author and an elected member of the American Law Institute, as well as an elected Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the Hastings Center. Her most recent book, Policing The Womb: Invisible Women and The Criminalization of Motherhood, is described as a "must read."
Tune in Tuesday, June 30 for the first episode of On the Issues with Michele Goodwin: Police Violence — A Tale of Two Genders. Professor Goodwin and her guests will ask critical questions like: where are the women in the field of policing? And why does it matter?
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Favorite SNL skits

What's my favorite SNL skit?  I don't know my favorite but this is one of them.



And this one.



And this.



Also this.



Maya is always hilarious.



And Ben's funny everytime he hosts.




And we all love Stefan.




And I love it when Fred does Joy Behar.



So those are some of my favorites.

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


Tuesday, June 23, 2020.  Cornavirus remains on the rise in Iraq, OXFAM notes the way the disease is effecting Iraqi women, Turkey continues to terrorize Iraq, UK military members whisper about a whitewash, and much more.



In Iraq, the coronavirus continues to claim lives.  Football legend Ahmed Radhi is the most famous victim so far but he is one of many who have perished in the pandemic. Hiwa Shilani (KURDISTAN 24) reports:

On Monday, the Iraqi Ministry of Health and Environment announced that 67 deaths and 1,808 new coronavirus infections had been recorded in the country over the past 24 hours.
The ministry in a statement noted that 10,075 laboratory tests had been carried out over the last day, increasing the total number of medical tests conducted, since the disease first emerged in Iraq, to 455,316.
According to the ministry’s latest figures, there has been a total of 32,676 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Iraq, including 1,167 deaths, 14,785 recoveries, with 16,724 cases still active, in which individuals are receiving medical care, with 222 of them in intensive care.
The Health Ministry of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) also announced on Monday that there has been eight deaths over the past 24 hours in the Kurdistan Region, along with 299 new cases.

OXFAM has released a paper on the coronavirus in Iraq and they note, "This gender analysis shows that women in three sample areas of Iraq are facing an increase in the burden of domestic work and caring responsibilities, a heightened risk of domestic violence and gender-based violence, and greater loss of economic livelihoods and autonomy than men. They also face greater difficulties in accessing healthcare and support services, due to restrictions on movement and constrictive social norms, have limited decision-making power, and lack the information on coronavirus itself which should help keep them safe."  From the paper:


The situation of Iraqi women was already precarious before the pandemic. Years of socio-economic and political instability have led to a deterioration in the rights, well-being and representation of women in Iraq. The results of the gender analysis confirm these worrying trends: women and girls are more at risk and withstand more pressure during this pandemic.
Women bear most of the burden of cleaning the house, preparing food, and taking care of children and sick people. While women used to spend on average more than six hours a day performing unpaid activities, their burden is likely to increase due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 
Women and girls face increased risks of violence during the pandemic. With most incidents of gender-based violence occurring in the home, the lockdown is likely to put women at increased risk of violence. A majority of the interviewees think that women and children are facing increased protection risks as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. However, GBV survivors lack access to the support they need.
Women have less access to information on COVID-19 than men and are more likely to be unable to protect themselves from the disease. While most respondents felt suitable informed about COVID-19 guidelines, from watching TV or social media, many felt they were unable to carry out the preventative measures due to lack of resources to purchase the necessary items. 
Women's incomes and livelihoods are more affected by coronavirus prevention measures than those of men. Between 15 and 30% of the women surveyed had some form of economic activity before the crisis. Most of them were not able to maintain this since the outbreak.
Access to sexual and reproductive health services is extremely limited, putting women at risk of mortality and morbidity that could otherwise be avoided. A shortage of contraceptive supplies, fear of contracting the virus in the health facilities and movement restrictions are among the key factors impacting women's sexual and reproductive health during the pandemic. 
The current pandemic presents unprecedented challenges for women's health, livelihoods, safety and representation. 
We call on public authorities and humanitarian actors to protect women from physical, psychological and economic violence, to enhance their participation in the COVID-19 response and to provide gender-sensitive interventions. 

The report also notes "the shadow pandemic" taking place -- violence against women and girls:



According to worldwide projections by UNFPA, '31 million additional cases of gender-based violence can be expected to occur if the lockdown continues for at least 6 months. For every 3 months the lockdown continues, an additional 15 million extra cases of gender-based violence are expected.'One in five Iraqi women and girls (21%) aged 15–49 were subjected to physical domestic violence in 2008. In a 2012 survey, 73% of women aged 15–45 reported that the perpetrator of domestic violence was their husband, followed by their father (53%), then other family members (43%). With most incidents of gender-based violence occurring in the home, lockdown measures to prevent the transmission of coronavirus are likely to put women at increased risk of violence.




Coronavirus was hardly the start of gendered discrimination and violence in Iraq. Women across the country have been faced with increased precarity due to years of conflict, socio-economic and political instability.

Several high profile cases of gender-based violence in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region made headlines during the last several months, in line with news of a rise in domestic violence during coronavirus lockdowns around the globe.

According to the United Nations, 46 percent of married women in Iraq have survived some form of abuse at home, of which a third report physical and sexual assault.

A participant in Oxfam’s survey attributes the increase in domestic violence to men not being able to go work or socialize, leading to a spiral of economic hardship and frustration.

"Men have little patience. […] Before, when men got angry they could go out and after a while forget about the issue, but now they can't go out and [they] have to stay together, and that creates more tension,” one male respondent, aged 36, told Oxfam researchers.

Iraq does not have any specific laws to protect against gender-based violence, which disproportionately affects women.

Several UN agencies in April called on the Iraqi Parliament to rapidly adopt an Anti-Domestic Violence Law amid the reported rise in domestic violence during the COVID-19 lockdown. 

No surprise that the Anti-Domestic Violence Law has yet to be adopted, nothing seems to take place in Iraq.  




How bad is the corruption?  Listen to MP Majida al Tamimi explain it.  "Even the traffic fines," she says, "how much of this do you think actually goes towards the budget?"

The corruption never ends and the Iraqi people never have their needs met -- not even basic needs like water they can drink.  Azhar Al-Ruabie (AL-MONITOR) reports:


Iraq's third-largest city, Basra, was once called “Venice of the East” due to the numerous water canals and bridges meandering throughout the entire city. This description is no longer true, as the Shatt al-Arab ("Stream of the Arabs") and its branches have become polluted with algae, bacteria, chemical toxins, and waste products from humans, hospitals and factory residuals.
On June 1, Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources announced that it has prepared a comprehensive plan to tackle the problem of salinity and environmental pollution in Basra province. The plan covers several measures, including building a dam in northern Basra to prevent river water from becoming further salinated.
Shatt al-Arab is a confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. But nowadays, what is flowing into Shatt al-Arab comes mostly from the Tigris River. This is because both rivers are witnessing decreasing rainfall, high temperatures over the past couple of years and the construction of dams along the two river streams. In turn, this has lowered Shatt al-Arab's share of water and polluted it with multiple contaminates.
Despite Basrawis living in a hydrocarbon-rich province, residents since 2011 have come together on the streets and in front of government buildings to demand rights such as clean water, health care, electricity, jobs, an end to corruption, and an end to foreign interference from the United States and Iran. Clean water was and still is their major demand, but no tangible measures have been taken.
In September 2018, Basrawis took to the streets to protest the government when more than 118,000 people in Basra suffered poisoning due to contaminated water. Health authorities and the High Commission for Human Rights announced that those admitted to hospitals in 2018 were experiencing severe diarrhea, vomiting, nausea and high fever.
 
Protest, demands, deaths.  None of it mattered.  The water issue has still not been addressed.  Iraqi politicians hide in the Green Zone to escape the wrath of the Iraqi people.  



Image
6:57 AM · Jun 23, 2020

Did the two discuss Turkey terrorizing Iraq?  Probably not.  But Salar Salim (AP) reports:

Dozens of civilians fled villages in northern Iraq on Monday as Turkey stepped up a military campaign targeting Kurdish rebels that has drawn condemnation from Iraqi officials.
Residents loaded trucks with their belongings and shepherds led livestock out of the Iraqi border village of Keshani as Turkish forces bombarded suspected positions of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, which has waged a decades-long insurgency against Turkey.
Turkey launched an air and ground offensive into the border region last week in a campaign to root out the PKK, which Ankara maintains has bases in northern Iraq. Those fleeing said they were afraid of airstrikes and Turkish troops entering their homes.

According to sources, Turkey has carried out air raids in the autonomous KRI due to claims of existence of PKK rebels in Iraq, but the victims of the past week were displaced Yazidis returning to Sinjar, displaced Assyrian Christians in Zakho, and Kurdish civilians in Dohuk/Erbil
Yazidi Refugee camp in Sinjar (Photographer: KHALID AL MOUSILY / REUTERS)
12:16 AM · Jun 23, 2020


Senior army commanders pressured a junior officer to stop an internal investigation into a British war crime in Iraq, writing it off as an “unfortunate incident in war”, a former member of the Royal Military Police’s Special Investigations Branch (SIB) has told Declassified UK. 
Another former senior SIB officer has said that British paratroopers should have been convicted of killing another Iraqi but they escaped punishment when a trial collapsed after failings in an SIB investigation. 
Declassified UK has spoken to four former soldiers in the SIB, which deployed to the Iraq conflict in 2003 alongside conventional troops, ready to investigate serious incidents involving UK forces, including potential British war crimes. None wanted to be named.
Decisions were made not to send sufficiently qualified senior investigating officers to command the SIB during the invasion and early tours, the former SIB members said. This made it easier for the army’s senior command to influence the investigations into abuses and created a backlog of unresolved cases, they say.
“I did not feel qualified to deal with an investigation of this scale and did not have sufficient resources,” one of the unit’s leaders later said. The SIB should have sent their “A-team” to Iraq, but instead dispatched officers who were “completely unqualified” to lead serious investigations in a theatre of war, a former senior SIB officer told Declassified UK. 
“They sent the wrong people… And to this day I don’t know why,” the source said. “The more I think about it, the more mad it becomes.”
The former senior SIB officer said that one would “absolutely 100%” expect to see more UK military prosecutions coming out of Iraq. He added, “You look at the amount of people who were prosecuted – virtually none. You know, how many people got away with murder?”





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