Thursday, February 13, 2014

Little Bitch Robert S. Becker

Last month, did you catch Ruth's "Do As They Say Not As They Do"?

She was taking on liar and little bitch Robert S. Becker.

He was saying you shouldn't demonize your opponents which would be a good message from someone else but Becker always demonizes.

And the little bitch is doing it again today:

 Is there a more compelling image for aggrieved martyrs than blood-thirsty Romans prodding wild animals to rip apart early Christians? Well, mass entertainment, certainly Christianity, has come a long way, baby. Which makes it all the more laughable that Republicans, playing the aggrieved victim card under Obama the oppressor, distort they are anything but selfless martyrs. In truth, the right commits the very blatant howlers that savage its own brand. Who else can extremists blame for misreading religion, science, politics, philosophy, history and sacred books?
That’s why so few key constituencies, except wheeler-dealer billionaires, escape today’s GOP quest to enthrone the insufferable status quo. By shunning women’s rights, the long-term jobless, a lost generation of youngsters, immigrants desperate for clarity, or the dying poor locked out from Obamacare-Medicaid, the party of Lincoln casts off any pretense to serving the common good, let alone any majority. Late last year, Gallup measured Republican favorability plummeting to 28%, down from 38% two months earlier, the lowest party rating ever measured since they started such counting in 1992. In January, Gallup reported only 25% of Americans call themselves Republican, down 9% since Dubya’s second ’04 victory.  Across America, only 17% endorse current GOP lawmakers while 74% disapprove, the worst ranking ever in Quinnipiac’s polling.

Can someone tell the little bitch to close his legs cause I don't need to see his boy 'gina.

Little bitches like Becker exist to whore for Barack.

If the left writes about ObamaCare today, it should be to note what a fraud it is and how Barack failed the country by refusing to just expand Medicare to cover everyone.

But little bitches like Becker?

They want to be screwed by the President.

You sort of picture him in a bleached blond wig, trying to be Marilyn Monroe, while snarling, "Not just the tip!  Give me more than the tip!"


Becker is useless, he's trash.

He's the whore Bob Roberts in the movie Bob Roberts.

He's a cheap ass whore who will sell hell to everyone if it means his baby Barack gets spared any real criticism.

Becker needs to hump his mattress in private.

The rest of us find him grotesque and sad.

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

 
Wednesday, February 12, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, the assault on Anbar continues, Nouri declares 'success,' Nouri also notes the damage the military shelling has done to hospitals (War Crimes), preparations take place for the planned April 30th elections, and much more.


Reporters Without Borders has released their World Press Freedom Index 2014.  We'll note Iraq in a moment, but first what the report says of the United States:


Countries that pride themselves on being democracies and respecting the rule of law have not set an example, far from it. Freedom of information is too often sacrificed to an overly broad and abusive interpretation of national security needs, marking a disturbing retreat from democratic practices. Investigative journalism often suffers as a result.
This has been the case in the United States (46th), which fell 13 places, one of the most significant declines, amid increased efforts to track down whistleblowers and the sources of leaks. The trial and conviction of Private Bradley Manning and the pursuit of NSA analyst Edward Snowden were warnings to all those thinking of assisting in the disclosure of sensitive information that would clearly be in the public interest.
US journalists were stunned by the Department of Justice’s seizure of Associated Press phone records without warning in order to identify the source of a CIA leak. It served as a reminder of the urgent need for a “shield law” to protect the confidentiality of journalists’ sources at the federal level. The revival of the legislative process is little consolation for James Risen of The New York Times, who is subject to a court order to testify against a former CIA employee accused of leaking classified information. And less still for Barrett Brown, a young freelance journalist facing 105 years in prison in connection with the posting of information that hackers obtained from Statfor, a private intelligence company with close ties to the federal government. 


Ed Hightower (WSWS) reported yesterday on the administration's attack on journalist James Rosen -- an attack not noted above:

The story of this illegal spying on a journalist working for a major news outlet broke last May in the wake of a broader scandal where it was revealed that the DoJ had secretly subpoenaed phone records for 21 lines registered to the Associated Press in an effort to learn the identity of an FBI explosives expert who leaked information on the “underwear bomber” in 2012, during Obama’s reelection campaign.
The affidavit supporting the subpoena request for Rosen’s email and phone records specifically alleged that “there is probable cause to believe that the reporter [James Rosen] has committed or is committing a violation [of the law] at the very least, either as an aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator,” in part by “employing flattery and playing to Mr. Kim’s vanity and ego.”

In light of this blatant attack on the freedom of the press, attorney general Eric Holder initially tried to distance himself from the warrant affidavit. When it was later revealed that Holder in fact personally approved of the warrant application, with all its bad faith, he confessed that the media probe got “a little out of whack” in a television interview that aired early last June. In that same interview, Holder told interviewer Pete Williams that he had no intention of resigning, saying tepidly “there are some things that I want to do, some things I want to get done that I have discussed with the president and once I have finished that, I’ll sit down with him and we’ll determine when it’s time to make a transition to a new attorney general.”


Now for what the report says about Iraq:

Since 2012, Iraq has been sinking into a new cycle of violence that is an aftereffect of the chaos and civil war following the US-led intervention of 2003. Religious tension between Sunnis and Shiites is being exacerbated by the Syrian crisis and, like the constant obstructiveness of the authorities and security forces, is having a negative impact on the safety of journalists and the independence of the media. In late 2013, for example, ISIS attacked the headquarters of Salaheddin TV in the northern city of Tikrit, killing five of its journalists. 

The Committee to Protect Journalists offers "Attacks on the Press: Journalism on the Front Lines in 2013."

In a 2006 book, the late New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid summed up the future of Iraq as ghamidh, meaning “unclear” or “ambiguous” in Arabic. Seven years later, uncertainty continued to exacerbate the threats that journalists faced. Newspaper offices were attacked by unknown assailants, and journalists were threatened, assaulted, and detained. At least 10 journalists were killed in 2013, but the assailants and their motives were frequently unclear. For all the uncertainty and ambiguity, one truth remained clear: Central government officials and Kurdish regional authorities repeatedly attempted to silence critical voices through a combination of detentions, the denial of credentials, the suspension of television licenses, and raids of stations. Iraqi journalists continued to call for revisions to the Journalist Protection Law, which CPJ criticized for its ambiguous and restrictive provisions. In a sign of hope, the Iraqi parliament withdrew a draft Information Crimes bill that would have restricted online journalism. Still, with so much uncertainty and so little security, journalists continue to flee into exile, amid fears that Iraq could slide back into the dark days of civil war.

CPJ also notes, "With not a single conviction in the 100 journalist murders of the past decade, Iraq remains the worst country in the world for impunity."

Let's move over to twisted and sick people.


  1.         

  2. 10h
    God has a great sense of humor. "Suicide Bomber Instructor Accidently Blows Up Entire Class of Islamic Terrorists."

That lunatic is trusted with children?  (She's the Director of Coptic Orphans.)  She's not only crazy, she's stupid beyond belief.  If 'God' is responsible for that bombing, 'God' is also responsible for all the others including the bombings that kill people she might like.  Is 'God' being funny and showing "a great sense of humor" then too?

Or, Nermien Riad, are you just a stupid asshole that wants to find glee in death so you'll couch your blood thirst on someone else?

Twitter, more and more, appears to exist solely so people can show just how damn stupid they are.

Back to the crazy train.

  •      




    • You shouldn't be laughing at it, but you can't help it?

    Could you have maybe helped yourself by not Tweeting about it.  Or is really important for someone with such an ugly face wearing such ridiculous clothes to draw attention to himself?

    There are sadly many more.  Glee in the face of death is tacky enough.  As we've noted Monday and Tuesday, even worse is this notion that, because the Iraqi government says something, it must be true.  All that is known is a number of people died in bombing.  That's nothing to be gleeful about -- not even if you believe the unverified assertion that the dead are 'terrorists.'  And to bring 'God' into it?  I'm sorry, I don't know the religion that has a higher power commanding you take delight in the deaths of others.


    The prayer offered below?  I think that prayer and sentiment is recognizable to many religions.
  •         

  • Feb 11
    O Allah Make It Easy On The Peopleof Iraq Syria Libya Egypt Sudan Yemen Lebanon Pakistan Palestine Afghanistan
    Expand         



    • One of the few journalists showing any sense is David Kenner:

    1.      


    That's basic common sense.  Kenner has it, his peers should acquire it.


    Yesterday, the Council on Foreign Relations had an event with Gen Ray Odierno moderated by CNN's James Sciutto.  Odierno was the top-US commander in Iraq

     SCIUTTO: If I can, not surprisingly, would like to start tonight on the topic of Iraq. It's been a bad couple of weeks, couple of months there. You have the Al Qaida-linked Islamic State of Iraq, ISIS, taking over Fallujah. A thousand killed last month, 9,000 in 2013. I just want to ask your view, in light of your time there, do you think Iraq at this stage is recoverable? And do you think a U.S. force presence there, had the administration and Iraqi leadership managed to reach agreement, would have made a measurable difference?

     ODIERNO: Well, first, I don't know if it's -- I mean, it's recoverable, but how long it would take to recover, I don't know. 2010, '11, we really bought time and space for the Iraqi people and the government to move forward. Security and violence was at, you know, really significant lows. But we always knew in the end, following the 2010 election, which was a very close election in Iraq, where, really, Maliki's party, who was the one that was in power, actually came in a very close second.
    And so as they went through the process of the parliamentary system of building the government to take over, there was hope that there'd be great cooperation, but we realized then, as it took six to eight months to form the government, that there was going to be problems in forming the government.
    So what happened is, although they had the time and space to continue -- because security was good -- to build the economy, to increase oil flow -- really, they were never able to reconcile between the different groups. And so what you saw is a continuing mistrust of the political entities within Iraq.
    And as that mistrust grew, you saw other factions begin over time -- after about a two-year period -- to start to take advantage of that governmental mistrust and exploit the situation, which then created more violence. And some say Maliki came down too hard on the Sunnis, had to move more towards Iran. All of those are potential possibilities, but the bottom line is that the government in place was not able to come together in order to represent all of the Iraqi people. And when that didn't happen, they then started to revert back to violence.
    And so what it's going to take is the politicians to come back together. They have an election coming up this year. And how that turns out will really probably dictate how well they move forward in Iraq.
    We do know that the oil is -- that oil exports have increased significantly, so economically, actually, they're doing very well. But the violence now is driving them to separate each other. So for us, it's disappointing, because we believe we had them in a place where they could move forward.
    And I believe Iraq is in such a strategic place in the Middle East -- just look at where it is on a map. It's right in the center. It's -- you know, it borders Iran, it borders Kuwait, it borders Jordan, it borders Turkey, it borders Syria. It's in such a key place in the Middle East, I thought it was very important that we would have them move forward as a stable government that is friendly to the United States. They're still friendly towards the United States, but right now, the instability in the country is very concerning to all of us as we move forward.

     SCIUTTO: It sounds like you say the key is political agreement. How much of a difference would it make if there was a modest force left for...

     ODIERNO: Well, I mean, I think -- the bottom line is, I think it depends on how long you were willing to leave that force there. The security forces were capable and able to do what they needed to do. Again, with political disagreement, I'm not sure how much it would matter, how much -- unless we had a significant amount of U.S. force, which was not going to happen, it was time for the Iraqis to take control of their own fate. It was time for them to provide the security. We had built a security force that had the capability to do that.

    So in my mind, I'm not sure it would have made much difference if we had a small force on the ground. What it would provide is confidence. Maybe it would have allowed us to put a bit more pressure on the political entities in order for them to maybe reconcile a bit more than they did. Maybe that would have made a difference, but it's hard to say.


    File Odierno's comment ("But we always knew in the end, following the 2010 election, which was a very close election in Iraq, where, really, Maliki's party, who was the one that was in power, actually came in a very close second.") under understatement of the year.  And note that Odierno, ahead of the March 2010 elections, tried to get the White House to focus on what happens if Nouri loses the election but refuses to step down -- exactly what happened.  Odierno's very modest but he deserves credit for seeing what could happen when idiots like then-US Ambassador Chris Stevens could see in front of him, let alone possibilities. We'll come back to the topic of elections.

    As the assault on Anbar province continues,  Sheldon Richman (MWC) offers this take, "Violence is flaring in Iraq, as Sunni Muslims, fed up with the oppressive, corrupt, U.S.-installed and Iran-leaning Shi’a government, have mounted new resistance."  Mushreq Abbas (Al-Monitor) offers:

    Last month, however, a completely different hypothesis was proven. The Iraqi government seemed to be in dire need of support from figures within the Sunni sit-in movements to disperse battles and impose the prestige of the state, which had disappeared from the cities of Anbar in various forms. They also needed these figures to expel ISIS, which had gained unexpected strength in Anbar.
    Since the first day of the crisis, the government resorted to elders and figures participating in the sit-ins to settle the crisis. Chief among these was Ahmed al-Dulaimi, the governor of Anbar and one of the former leaders of the sit-ins; Ahmed Abu Risha, a Sahwa forces commander of Sahwa who was isolated months ago; and Albu Fahd Rafi Abd al-Karim, a tribal leader. Many of these names and leaders of other clans have declared their willingness to fight for the liberation of Anbar from ISIS, and they formed new Sahwa forces for this purpose. However, they failed to put an end to the crisis. The truth of the matter is that the many tribal leaders in Fallujah, including the tribe of al-Dalim Ali Hatem, among other well-known leaders supported by a wide population, have come to realize after weeks of fighting that the Sahwa will not succeed this time, as was the case in 2006, when the forces were recruited by the US forces under the command of Gen. David Petraeus.
    Back then, the objective conditions were different from today, even the form of the crisis is now quite different. Demonstrations were back then an indication of an unsettled political conflict.


    Another take this week was offered by Ross Caputi in an open letter to US Secretary of State John Kerry (Global Research):

    Fallujah is currently under siege once again. You have stated that US troops will not be sent back to Iraq to assist in the current siege, but you have agreed that the US should send weapons to the Iraqi government. I am writing to implore that you do everything within your ability to stop shipments of US weapons to Iraq, whether they are sold, gifted, or loaned. Arming an oppressive regime so that they may better crush a popular uprising is not in the best interest of Americans or Iraqis.
    During that 2nd siege of Fallujah we killed thousands of civilians, displaced hundreds of thousands, destroyed nearly the entire city, and brought immeasurable loss and hardship upon those poor people. Since then I have devoted my life to raising awareness about the suffering I helped create in Fallujah, and to assisting Fallujans in their struggle with a public health disaster and ongoing repression.
    I feel a moral obligation to do whatever is within my power to help these people who I once hurt. But I was not a lone actor in Iraq. I had the support of a nation behind me and I was taking orders from the world’s most powerful military. The 2nd siege of Fallujah was not exceptional; rather it was symbolic of our military’s conduct in Iraq and the way that our mission impacted the lives of Iraqis. Our war and occupation took so much from them. It resulted in hundreds of thousands of deaths, millions displaced, permanent environmental contamination, and a new repressive regime that most Iraqis regard as begin more brutal than that of Saddam Hussein. This is the legacy of America’s involvement in Iraq. The least that we can do at this point is to end our complicity in their suffering.
    The current violence in Fallujah has been misrepresented in the media. The Iraqi Ministry of Interior asserted earlier in the month that al Qaeda had taken over half of Fallujah and the media parroted this assertion. However, journalists who have done serious investigations into this assertion found it to be false. The uprising in Fallujah is a popular uprising, not one lead by an international jihadist group. The Iraqi government has not been attacking al Qaeda in Fallujah. Their assault has been indiscriminate, killing dozens of civilians and wounding even more. Many of these deaths have been documented by human rights organizations within Fallujah.



    On the assault,  Wael Grace (Al Mada) reports MPs are expressing surprise at prime minister and chief thug of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki announcing victory in Anbar -- despite the fact that after six weeks of fighting, Nouri's assault continues.  MP Hamid al-Mutlaq calls out the claims that the military operations have ended in Ramadi and notes that clashes continue.

    Meanwhile Alsumaria reports Nouri is declaring that the government will inventory all the damage his assault did to private and public property and pursue reconstruction.  Property, he notes, includes bridges, hospitals . . .  Did you catch that because the American press won't.  Nouri's acknowledging -- publicly -- that his forces attacked hospitals.

    In the last few weeks, we've noted here that they attacked Falluja General Hospital and Falluja Educational Hospital.  We've also noted these are War Crimes.  The western press wasn't interested.

    Now that Nouri's spoken publicly about it, will they suddenly show interest now?


    NINA notes Iraqiya MP Leaq Wardi stated, "The continuation of indiscriminate shelling and concentrated, the past few days, on the health institutions, especially the Falluja General Hospital, confirms the existence of a deliberate intention not to resolve the crisis, despite the announcement of continuous initiatives to solve the crisis."  National Iraqi News Agency reports that Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman states Nouri should withdraw the military within 72 hours in order to end the Anbar crisis.



    Instead the violence continues in Anbar and elsewhere.  Iraq Body Count counts 313  violent deaths for the month so far through yesterday.


    Bombings?

    National Iraqi News Agency reports 2 Baghdad car bombings and 1 roadside bombing left either people injured,   2 Jorfi-ssakhar roadside bombing left 6 Iraqi soldiers dead, an al-Qosat bombing left three police memebers injured,  military shelling in Falluja left 3 civilians dead and seven more injured,  Alsumaria reports a Tuz Khurmato roadside bombing left 4 people dead and nine injured, and a Sab'Qsoor roadside bombing (northeast of Baghdad) killed 1 child.  All Iraq News adds a Tikrit bombing left two Sahwa and one civilian injured.  Iraq Times reports that military shelling in Ramadi left 1 elderly woman dead and eight other people injured. Xinhua notes "a civilian was killed when a mortar round crashed on his house in the same area of Jurf al-Sakhar, the source said."


    Shootings?

    National Iraqi News Agency reports  1 person was shot dead in southwest Baghdad (Saidiya area),  security forces killed 6 suspects (including one man from Saudi Arabia) to the "east of Ramadi," and "a security force killed a gunman and blew up two oil tankers in al-Qayyarah south of Mosul, and killed their drivers."

    Changing topics, Asharq al-Awsat reports on Ayad Allawi:


     Former Iraqi Prime Minister Iyad Allawi, head of the Iraqi National Accord party, has confirmed he has no intention to retire from politics, saying he will lead the new Wataniya bloc in the parliamentary elections scheduled to take place on April 30, 2014.
    [. . .]

    Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat from Baghdad on Tuesday, Allawi said: “We came into politics to serve our people, not in search of personal gains. The course of the elections must be corrected and the elections and parties law must be ratified. We insist that the next elections must be transparent and fair in order to allow the Iraqi people to have their say through the ballot box.”

    Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya won the 2010 elections.  He was prevented from becoming prime minister as a result of the US-brokered Erbil Agrement which went around the Iraq Constitution, the voters and democracy.  Iraqi.

    If the US government does not try to fix the results, the April 30th elections would be the first parliamentary elections where Iraqis decided who their prime minister would be.  Following the December 2005 parliamentary elections, the Iraqi Parliament thought they'd have Ibrahim al-Jufaari as the prime minister.  The White House overruled them and insisted on Nouri al-Maliki.  And in 2010, the White House overruled Ayad Allawi, demanding that Nouri get a second term.  From Bush to Barack, there has been a refusal to allow the Iraqi people to chart their own course.  From Bush to Barack, the Iraqis have had a prime minister imposed on them.

    Now Nouri wants a third term -- despite the fact that he promised in early 2011 that he wouldn't seek a third term.  Nouri's a liar, he's a crook.  Iraq cannot move forward with Nouri as prime minister.  This was proven in his first term and proven in his second.  To award him a third term would be to doom Iraq.

    The Oman Tribune editorial board observes, "Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki must be hoping for that the elections will put Iraq back on the road to peace. Nursing such hopes is a big mistake and shows that the prime minister is out of touch with reality. The increasing flow of American arms and other steps will not help. On the other hand they will only create more mayhem.  And it is strange that Maliki has not realised that the key to peace and stability lies in one of his pockets. A number of people have said the same thing. So, before it’s late, Maliki must heed the advice of those saying that he must reach out to sections of Iraqis alienated by his high-handed behaviour of the recent past. Or else, the violence will spread and more parts of Iraq could fall into the hands of the militants. "

    National Iraqi News Agency reports: "Speaker Osama Nujaifi, emphasized the need to take measures to accomplish the exact timing for the upcoming elections and making plans for elections in Anbar province, to get real results."  Alsumaria notes that al-Nujaif met today with a delegation of the Independent High Electoral Commission.  Al-Shorfa notes that electronic cards will be used in the planned April 30th elections and quotes IHEC's Chair Sarbast Mustafa stating,  "Electronic cards will contain the data of each Iraqi citizen older than 18 years of age who is eligible to vote in the next general parliamentary election in the country."  Earlier this month, the IHEC issued the following:


    image

    The IHEC Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Mr. Mukdad al Sharify confirmed on 28 January that the IHEC will begin a considerable media campaign to urge and educate voters to take over their electronic cards which will be used in the voting process in the upcoming Iraqi parliamentary elections (IPE) scheduled on 30 April 2014.

    Mr. al Sharify said that the IHEC will start this media campaign to educate voters on the importance of the e-cards and measures of work adopted during the next few days. The campaign will be conducted in several stages until polling day on 30 April. He added that the media campaigns to be implemented by the IHEC would vary between urging voters to participate in the upcoming electoral process and how to take over their cards by reviewing the voter registration centers (VRCs) opened out across the country. The media campaign also included a detailed explanation on the available data saved in these e-cards, in addition to the security features that prevent manipulations or re-using the card more than one time in the polling day. 


    Mr. al Sharify indicated that the IHEC will reveal important information to motivate the voters to receive their e-cards and it has contracted with many media outlets and TV channels to publish and broadcast the media campaign of the e-cards in order to reach to all categories of Iraqi society. Mr. al Sharify called on again the partners of electoral process, civil society organization, religious scholars and media to support the IHEC' campaign by urging voters to visit the VRCs to take over their cards to cast their ballots in upcoming IPE. He stressed that the e-cards would consider as an important document and there will be impossible for voters to vote in the polling day without this card.   




    On the IHEC, Harith Hasan (Al-Monitor) explains:
    The IHEC was founded to be an independent and impartial commission with the credibility to manage electoral processes. The United Nations supported the IHEC, and an international expert was a member of the first Board of Commissioners that was established under the authority of the Coalition Provincial Authority. However, the role of the UN dwindled after the commission developed its capacities and skills, expanded its institutions and gained electoral experience. Meanwhile, the Iraqi parliament assigned new commissioners by following the new habit of sectarian, ethnic and factional apportionment, just like most public positions.
    Gradually, the Board of Commissioners, which today includes nine members, became more factional, and some observers, independent politicians and small parties complain that its members are affiliated with the major parties. Still, this did not undermine the commission’s credibility. An expert who worked with the international team supporting the commission confirmed to Al-Monitor that the current council enjoys good degree of professionalism and experience. The impartiality of the commission was prioritized over the independence of its members, and this impartiality was guaranteed by the quasi-partisan representation in the commission. However, this arrangement was to the detriment of the small parties that were not represented and, as a result, cannot exert direct pressure on the commission’s members, when needed.
    The Council of Commissioners issued, in February 2014, a statement in which it announced its decision to ban Shams Network from monitoring the elections. Shams is a major network that was founded to ensure the safety and impartiality of the electoral process. It has worked in the past alongside the commission. The commission announced that its decision came after the said network breached the code of conduct. The commission specifically referred to the statements of the head of the network, Hoger Jato, regarding the electronic voter cards system that the commission intends to implement in the upcoming elections.















    mushreq abbas


    Posted by at

    Wednesday, February 12, 2014

    Gotham

    Noting the other comic Isaiah did this weekend, "The Joker."

      


    Do we need another Batman movie?

    As far as I'm concerned, the only great Batman on the big screen has been Michael Keaton.

    After him, I'd rank Val Kilmer.

    Christian Bale was boring and I don't think in ten years his cult will still be around.

    The all time worst was George Clooney.

    And now Ben Affleck will play the role in Superman v. Batman.

    But that's not the only Batman coming to the big screen.

    I did not know that a prequel was about to be filmed.

    Fox is making Gotham.

    The article notes:

     "Gotham" is billed as an origin-story prequel series to the Batman films from Warner Bros. TV. Bruno Heller ("The Mentalist") wrote the pilot script and will serve as executive producer. Danny Cannon ("Nikita") will direct and executive produce the pilot.

    The only reason it might be good is Danny Cannon.

    They haven't picked a Batman.

    Is there a reason they can't do a Batgirl film?

    We've had her played badly by Alicia Silverstone whose weight was an issue when she's playing a superhero, sorry.

    And she was awful in the role and it helped end her career.

    But a real actress in the role could be something to see.

    The Center for Constitutional Rights: issued the following today:

    press@ccrjustice.org
    February 11, 2014, New York – In response to news reports that the Obama administration is considering assassinating an American citizen who allegedly presents a security threat, the Center for Constitutional Rights issued the following statement:

    Once again, the Obama administration is secretly considering killing a US citizen without due process and absent proof that the individual genuinely poses an imminent threat.  While increased transparency around the government’s targeted killings – of both US- and non-US citizens – is imperative, the legality and morality of the entire program must be scrutinized by the courts and the public.  Ultimately, the administration’s apparent rationale for the targeted killing program – that the US is engaged in a global, decade-plus-long war with Al Qaeda and unspecified ‘associated forces’ – turns the principles that prohibit killing outside the battlefield on their head.


    The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.



     Good for CCR for standing up.  Tom Carter (WSWS) reports on the issue of the proposed assassination:

     The Associated Press Monday published an extraordinary report based on deliberate leaks from senior US government officials announcing that the Obama administration is “wrestling with whether to kill [an unnamed US citizen] with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy.” The targeted individual is alleged to be a terrorist residing “in a country that refuses US military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him.” The media subsequently carried various reports indicating that the individual is located in Pakistan.
    Monday’s revelation that the White House is once again preparing to carry out the illegal murder of an American citizen gives an entirely new and sinister meaning to President Obama’s campaign slogan, “Yes we can.”
    Indeed, if the government can order the state assassination of a US citizen in the name of national security, what can it not do? Concentration camps (a remedy recently justified by Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia), torture, disappearances, martial law, the suspension of the Constitution—all the methods of a police state dictatorship become equally justifiable and possible.
    The apparent purpose of the Obama administration’s calculated leak is to blunt popular opposition to an illegal state murder by creating a phony aura of “due process,” “transparency” and careful deliberation for a criminal operation that is steeped in secrecy, conspiracy and contempt for core constitutional principles.



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

     
    Tuesday, February 11, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, the assault on Anbar Province continues, the United Nations expresses concerns, PBS replaces their long running program The NewsHour with the brand new GossipHour, a newspaper is bombed in Baghdad, Samantha Power has a suggestion for Barack Obama's travel plans,  and more.

    Yesterday, we noted how NPR's lust for death and gossip led them to 'cover' Iraq.  The fact that it was gossip?  Clams by the Iraqi government cannot be verified?  That's gossip.  It's especially gossip if you try to present it as 'fact.'  Proving the gossip value, Perez Hilton blogged about the people who died yesterday in a bombing and joined the other gossip queens and kings in presenting the dead -- with no proof -- as "terrorists."

     Judy Woodruff who once objected to cooking segments on CNN decided PBS was a little stuffy for her and she needed to sling some sass too so she offered this on tonight's NewsHour (PBS -- link is video, audio and text):

    In Iraq, a group of insurgents-in-training accidentally set off their own car bomb, killing 21 people. Police say the would-be terrorists had gathered near the city of Samarra in an orchard, when the bomb exploded. In addition to those who died, two dozen suspects were arrested.

    She offered that nonsense yesterday.  We waited until today to call her out because I wanted to see if The NewsHour's headlines intended to note another Iraq event?  Click here for this evening, and, no, they didn't.

    What item am I talking about?  What didn't they note?

    How about the Monday event that the US State Dept commented on?  The only Iraq event on Monday that they commented on?  We carried the statement in yesterday's snapshot but let's note it again since gossip outlets such as The NewsHour missed it.



    Press Statement
    Marie Harf
    Washington, DC
    February 10, 2014



    The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on the convoy of the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Osama al-Nujaifi, in Ninewa province. Speaker Nujaifi has been a strong partner of the United States’ efforts in Iraq and we are grateful that he was unharmed in the attack.
    Today’s attack exemplifies the danger terrorist groups pose to all Iraqis, and the importance of Iraqi leaders from all communities working together to isolate militant groups from the broader population. The United States stands with the Iraqi people and will continue to work closely with Iraqi political and security leaders to combat those who commit such senseless acts.


    Again, we gave The NewsHour until today.  They're not real smart when it comes to Iraq and they might have missed it.  Even the United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq waited until today to weigh in:

    Baghdad, 11th February 2014 - The Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General for Iraq (SRSG), Mr. Nickolay Mladenov, strongly condemned the attack against the convoy of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Osama Al-Nujaifi, in the city of Mosul in Ninewa Province yesterday afternoon. 

    SRSG Mladenov urged all leaders to "unite against terrorism, which is affecting all segments of the Iraqi society”. 
    “I also take this opportunity to call on the people of Iraq to support the security forces, local authorities and the tribes of Anbar in their fight against terrorism and to provide humanitarian support to those affected by the fighting”, he said. 
    “In addition, I call on all sides to help rebuild Anbar through investment and socially inclusive policies and to address the causes of violence through dialogue and the political process" he added. 
    “Finally, I wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured in this incident”, Mr. Mladenov said.



    So to be clear, The NewsHour can engage in gossip -- in fact, can excel in it -- but they can't handle news?

    The big news item out of Iraq yesterday was the assassination attempt on the highest ranking Sunni official in the country, Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.

    In the US, this would be the same as two assassination attempts -- one on the Speaker of the House and one on the Senate Majority Leader.  That's because there's only one house in Iraq's national legislative body.

    Further news value was that the attempt took place in a Sunni-dominant province (al-Nujaifi is a Sunni) and that the governor of the province is Atheel al-Nujaifi, Osama's brother.

    What PBS can't grasp, the Latin American Herald Tribune does, "Osama, Iraq’s highest-ranking Sunni politician, and brother Atheel al-Nujaifi, the governor of Nineveh, were unharmed when a roadside bomb detonated as their convoy was passing in the Al Gafran area."

    There's also news value in who attacked him?

    That should lead to speculation.  Not speculation presented as fact, but questions should be asked.

    Osama al-Nujaifi is a very popular Sunni figure -- his political slate is fielding many candidates in the expected April 30th parliamentary elections.  Nineveh is a Sunni-dominant province.  Osama's brother Atheel al-Nujaifi is not just the Governor of Nineveh, he's the re-elected governor of Nineveh.  He's very popular which is why the US government and 'seed money' (US taxpayer dollars misused by the US State Dept) were unable to have him unseated (in Anbar, the US government was able to buy the office of governor).

    So who could be behind the attack.  Press TV offers one possibility:

    Iran Majlis Speaker Ali Larijani says Takfiri groups carried out the terrorist bomb attack against his Iraqi counterpart, calling on Iraqi officials to maintain their national unity.
    “I suspect that perpetrators of this [act of] terror are neither Shia nor Sunni Muslims but they are Takfiri groups who have been in Iraq for a while,” Larijani told reporters on Tuesday on the sidelines of a ceremony held to mark the 35th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution.

    PBS's newly branded GossipHour didn't find that newsworthy but then, more and more, they struggle to figure out what is actually news.

    And when they treat death as a giggle, do the gossip mavens realize what's going on in Iraq?

    I'm not talking about the ongoing assault on Anbar Province.  We'll get there but right now I'm talking about what's going on in terms of what the society's been encouraged to do.

    As Nouri behaves like a blood thirty tyrant, you see echoes in Iraqi society.  You see an increasing lack of respect for rule of law and for guilt and innocence.

    It is not expecting too much on any given day for US outlets to grasp innocent until proven guilty -- the notion of which is not only the basis for the US legal system but also enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution.  But when they toss that aside to have their giggles over the deaths of a group of people that the Iraqi government claims were 'terrorists,' they don't encourage rule of law or innocent until proven guilty.  Instead, they help spread mob rule and terrorism.

    If no one stands up for innocent until proven guilty, how do you expect the notion to take hold in Iraq?

    Shame on PBS and their GossipHour.

    Moving over to the ongoing assault on Anbar Province, the editorial board of the San Francisco Chronicle notes:

    The rising death count and stubborn refusal of al-Maliki to share power are no reason to abandon Iraq, especially after this country's legacy of involvement. Instead it's time for Washington to push hard for serious reforms that will finish a job it so clumsily began in the name of democratic change. 

    It is past time for the White House and the State Dept to demand serious changes in the way Nouri al-Maliki rules Iraq.  However, the big consideration at the White House right now with regards to Iraq?  Whether or not US President Barack Obama should make a dart-in-and-out visit next month?

    Barack will be in the region and there are certain elements (War Hawk Samantha Power among them) arguing that Barack should visit -- and get this for her reasoning -- to show support for 'ally' Nouri al-Maliki right before the April 30th elections.

    The idea of accountability is one that escapes the blood thirsty Samantha Power.




    James Rosen (McClatchy Newspapers) notes:
    The Obama administration is shipping Hellfire missiles and providing intelligence, training and logistics to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who American analysts say is helping to fuel the al-Qaida resurgence through repressive measures against Sunni Muslims from his Shiite Muslim-dominated government.
    "The primary and empowering causes of Iraq's current violence are not extremist movements or sectarian and ethnic divisions, but its failed politics and system of governance," Anthony H. Cordesman and Sam Khazai, analysts with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in a draft e-book that the Washington research center is circulating. "These failures are led by the current Maliki government."


    Nouri has caused the problems in Iraq -- Nouri and the White House.

    He lost the 2010 parliamentary elections to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya.  Neither he nor the White House could respect the will of the people.  For 8 months, Nouri brought the country to a standstill as he refused to step down.  Meanwhile, the White House had US officials in Iraq brokering The Erbil Agreement, a legal contract outlining a power-sharing government that would require Nouri to make certain written concessions in order for the political blocs to give him a second term so that the 8 month political stalemate would end.

    Nouri used the contract to get a second term and then refused to honor it.

    By the summer of 2011, the Kurds, Iraqiya and movement leader and cleric Moqtada al-Sadr were publicly demanding that Nouri finally implement The Erbil Agreement.

    He refused to.

    This causes the problems.

    No power-sharing meant Nouri staged a power grab and punished his political rivals -- mainly his Sunni political rivals, most infamously with his attacks on Iraq's Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

    The targeting of Sunnis -- politicians and citizens -- led to the protests, the ongoing protests that kicked off December 21, 2012.  Still ongoing.


     Last Thursday, Human Rights Watch released their report entitled (PDF format warning) "'NO ONE IS SAFE: Abuses of Women in Iraq's Criminal Justice System."



    Former detainee Fatma:  All in all, I was tortured for seven days. They tied my hands, stripped my clothes and covered my legs with ice.  This was during the month of February, so it was very cold.  I felt like my fingers were broken from the cold, the beating, the cursing and the insults. A man handcuffed both of my hands and feet, and made me lay on my stomach. He took my clothes off.  He started to hit my face and eyes.  He pulled me by my hair.  I couldn't scream or move because if I moved the handcuffs would hurt my hands and legs. Then the man raped me.  

     Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson:  The number of women in Iraq in prison right now is estimated to be just over a thousand, about 1100 women.  And the abuses that we've documented against them are often typical of the abuses that men often face which is torture, beatings usually designed to extract confessions.  But in addition, because they're women with the additional vulnerability, they have faced sexual assault and harassment.  

     Former detainee Fatma:  You've just been raped, beaten and insulted and then they say they will do the same to your daughter if you don't confess what they tell you to.  What can you do then?  You will surely say that you committed those crimes.  You will say whatever they want to protect your child.  So the only option that prisoners are left with is to confess to crimes they didn't commit and hope they find a lawyer who will prove their innocence. 

     Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson:  We found dozens of cases of women who said they signed confessions due to torture.  We have ourselves documented their torture on their bodies, seen the marks left behind.  We have talked to judges who themselves have verified being put under pressure to convict women without evidence.

     Former detainee Fatma:  The judicial order for my release was issued in January, but then I stayed in prison for 25 more days.

     Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson:  It is quite common -- not just for women, but also for men in Iraq who've been detained -- to be held beyond their detention, beyond the expiry of their sentences.  And I think it highlights the dysfunction of the Iraqi judicial system.

     Former detainee Fatma:  I filed a complaint but I haven't seen any results. I was interviewed by the justice minister once.  He asked me what happened and I told him all of the details and that I didn't understand why I was tortured and raped. He said that they will look into my case and that they will take court action against those who abused me.  He also said they would compensate me for the torture I've been through and for the extra time that I spent in prison after I was supposed to be released.  But as of now, nothing has happened, and I'm afraid. 

     Human Rights Watch's Middle East and North Africa Director Sarah Leah Whitson:  In Iraq still there is an abiding sense of immunity for the security services which is blessed and sanctioned there.  Until Maliki makes clear that he will not tolerate torture and abuse either in Iraq's prisons or Iraq's police stations, we can expect this to continue. 


    The above is another reason the US needs a NewsHour and not a GossipHour.

    Equally true, the report should have immediately triggered US Congressional hearings since these human rights violations are against the law and mean the US government cannot be funding the Iraqi government or providing it with weapons.


    Ramzy Baroud (Al Arabiya Network) notes the report and offers:

     Considering the charged political atmosphere in Iraq, the latest reported abuses are of course placed in their own unique context. Most of the abused women are Sunni and their freedom has been a major rallying cry for rebelling Sunni provinces in central and western Iraq. In Arab and Muslim culture, dishonoring one through occupation and the robbing of one’s land comes second to dishonoring women. The humiliation that millions of Iraqi Sunni feel cannot be explained by words and militancy is an unsurprising response to the government’s unrelenting policies of dehumanization, discrimination and violence.


    Nouri, of course, responded to the protests against these government abuses by declaring war on Anbar Province.  The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq issued the following today:


     This is a summary of what was said by UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming – to whom quoted text may be attributed – at the press briefing, on 11 February 2014, at the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
    Over the last six weeks up to 300,000 Iraqis – some 50,000 families – have been displaced due to insecurity around Fallujah and Ramadi in central Iraq's Anbar Province. With the conflict in Anbar continuing, UN agencies continue to receive reports of civilian casualties and sustained hardship in communities impacted by the fighting and the influx of internally displaced persons (IDPs).
    Iraq's Ministry of Displacement and Migration estimates that the government will initially need $35 million to address humanitarian needs caused by the Anbar crisis, including to provide food, bedding and other needs. Late last month the government's high level emergency coordination committee allocated $18 million to the Ministry of Displacement and Migration and a further $9 million to Anbar Province authorities to help the displaced persons.
    UNHCR field staff report that displaced Iraqis are residing in schools, mosques and other public buildings and urgently need various humanitarian items. Pregnant women and children need medical care while all families are in need of drinking water, milk and other food aid, diapers, beds and cooking items.
    Most of the displaced have fled to outlying communities in Anbar Province to escape the fighting while 60,000 persons have fled to more distant provinces. Thousands are now displaced to Salah Al-Din; authorities in Erbil report some 24,000 persons there, while some 6,000 persons are registered in Dohuk and Suleymaniyeh and others are in Tikrit, Babylon and Kerbala.
    Along Iraq's distant frontier with Syria, there are now some 7,000 displaced Iraqis in Al Qaim, a border city where families need significant support. Al Qaim hosts some 5,000 Syrian refugees and supplies are becoming increasingly scarce.
    As in other parts of the country, the IDPs in Al Qaim are mainly living in hotels and guest houses, although some are staying in the abandoned staff residences at an old phosphate factory. A UNHCR team that flew in from Baghdad found others living in an unheated school, where they stay in classrooms and cook in an improvised kitchen on a stove donated by the host community. We identified several chronic medical cases of diabetes and high-blood pressure as well as at least four pregnant women. Blankets and kitchen sets were provided from the stocks stored at the nearby Al Obeidy Syrian refugee camp
    In a relief operation coordinated by the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq to support the Iraqi government's response, UNHCR has distributed more than 2,300 kits of core relief items and 175 tents various locations across the country. The International Organisation for Migration has distributed more than 1,600 kits including also mattresses and sleeping kits. ICRC has likewise distributed its core relief item kits to more than 800 needy families as well as water tanks and other supplies. UNICEF has so far distributed more than 1,250 hygiene kits and various water/sanitation supplies and plans to send 36 tons of hygiene kits, water and sanitation supplies into Ramadi, Heet, Haditha, Rawa, Ana and Al Qaim. UNWFP in cooperation with IOM has delivered more than 4,300 food parcels to various districts in Anbar hosting IDPs.
    In addition to providing medical care, first aid and transportation, the Iraqi Red Crescent Society is very actively involved in the relief effort and has distributed food parcels and other items to more than 100,000 people. Iraq's parliament has also dispatched relief aid via the Ministry of Displacement. The Ministry of Displacement and Migration itself has dispatched more than 5,300 food rations, 9,000 blankets and more than 600 core relief item kits while more than 200 tents are on their way to Amiriat Al-Fallujah to increase accommodation capacity. National charities like Al-Ataba Al Hussainiyah have distributed cash assistance for all IDP families from Anbar province in Al-Zahra city in Kerbala (100,000 dinars for adults and 50,000 dinars for children) as well as transportation costs between Al Zahra city and Kerbala city and three meals daily. A UNHCR team from Baghdad recently visited Al Zahra city near Kerbala and found more than 1,500 IDPs residing there in a pilgrim camp, where ICRC has provided water tanks and other aid.
    Other partners like the International Rescue Committee are active and supporting UNHCR's field work. Save the Children plans to conduct a child protection assessment in Shaklawa and Erbil, in northern Iraq.
    Access and roadblocks remain a challenge. A consignment of WHO medical supplies has reportedly been detained at an Iraqi Army checkpoint since 30th January. Many bridges leading into the Anbar region have been destroyed and roads are blocked, complicating deliveries to communities hosting IDPs.
    The some 300,000 new IDPs comes atop of Iraq's population of more than 1.1 million displaced persons who have still not returned to communities wracked by violence mainly during the 2006-2008 upheaval.
    For more information on this topic, please contact:


    • In Amman: Peter Kessler on mobile +962 79 631 7901
    • In Baghdad: Natalia Prokopchuk on mobile +964 780 921 7341




    On violence, through yesterday, Iraq Body Count notes 290 violent deaths so far this month.

    Bombings?


    National Iraqi News Agency reports an  a Baquba roadside bombing left two people injured,  a Mishada roadside bombing left 1 person dead and another injured, a Mosul roadside bombing left 1 woman and 1 child dead and a second woman injured, shellings left 5 people dead and thirty-one injured in Falluja, a mortar attack on Falluja Educational Hospital left one doctor injured, an al-Meshaheda roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police member and left two more injured, and  a Kirkuk roadside bombing left one woman injured.  All Iraq News notes a Baquba sticky bombing left 1 taxi driver dead.



    Shootings?


    National Iraqi News Agency reports an attack on a Jurf al-Sakar checkpoint which left eight federal police injured, two people were injured in a Jamjamal shooting, 1 person was shot dead in Baladiat,  a Hawija confrontation left 1 Sahwa dead, an Eina Village battle left 15 Iraqi soldiers dead, Joint Special Operations Command declared they had killed 17 suspects in Ein-Aljahsh Village, Joint Special Operations Command announced they had killed 7 suspects to the northwest of Ramadi,  a Tarmiyah battle left 1 Sahwa dead and two more injured, and 1 Turkmen was shot dead in Mosul.



    Corpses?


    National Iraqi News Agency reports  1 corpse was discovered in Sadr City.  Loveday Morris (Washington Post) pointed out earlier this week, "Scores of bodies have been dumped in Iraq’s canals and palm groves in recent months, reminding terrified residents of the worst days of the country’s sectarian conflict and fueling fears that the stage is being set for another civil war."


    The shelling of Falluja Eductional Hospital was by Iraqi forces.  They've previously shelled Falluja General Hospital.  World Bulletin notes that "hospital doctors gave Iraq's Health Ministry a 24-hour deadline by which to intervene to stop the shelling of the hospital, threatening to stop working if their demands went unmet."

    The US pretends these shellings are not taking place because they are War Crimes.  [You can refer to the International Committee of the Red Cross for the Convention (IV) relative to the Proection of Civilian Persons in Time of War. Geneva, 12 August 1949.]  Emma Daly (Crimes Of War) explains:

    The concept of immunity, the rule that certain people and places should be “protected and respected” during wartime, can be dated back at least to 1582, when a Spanish judge suggested that “intentional killing of innocent persons, for example, women and children, is not allowable in war.” The Geneva Conventions of 1949 confirmed immunity for civilians, hospitals, and medical staff, and the 1977 Additional Protocols to the conventions state: “The civilian population and individual civilians shall enjoy general protection against the dangers arising from military operations.”
    The absolute rule is that civilians must not be directly targeted for military attack. Furthermore, some individuals considered especially vulnerable  -- children under fifteen, the elderly, pregnant women, and mothers of children under seven -- are granted special protection and may, for example, be moved to safe zones exempt from attack by agreement of the warring parties. The wounded, sick, or shipwrecked, military personnel who are considered to be hors de combat, are protected, as are prisoners of war.
    Hospitals, both fixed and mobile, ambulances, hospital ships, medical aircraft, and medical personnel --  whether civilian or military -- are also entitled to protection from hostile fire under the Geneva Conventions, provided that structures are marked with a red cross or red crescent and not used improperly or near military objectives, and staff are properly protected. Staff include not only doctors, nurses, and orderlies, but the drivers, cleaners, cooks, crews of hospital ships—in short, all those who help a medical unit to function. Some aid workers -- for example, Red Cross volunteers treating the sick and wounded on the battlefield -- are also covered, as are military chaplains. Other than hospitals, certain other buildings cannot be attacked. Places of worship and historic monuments are protected, as are civilian structures like schools and other objects that are not being used to support military activities. Under the 1954 Convention on Cultural Property important places of worship, historic sites, works of art, and other cultural treasures are likewise protected from attack.

    "The hospital medical staff urges the health minister to immediately intervene to stop the targeting of the hospital," chief doctor Ahmed al-Shami said at a Tuesday press conference.





    Reporters Without Borders issued a statement today which includes:
    Reporters Without Borders condemns yesterday morning’s bomb attack on the downtown Baghdad headquarters of the Al-Sabah Al-Jadid newspaper, five days after it published a much criticized cartoon of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. The explosion caused a great deal of damage but no injuries.
    The offending cartoon illustrated an article in the newspaper’s 6 February issue, which was about the demonstrations being organized this week to mark the 34th anniversary of Iran’s Islamic Revolution and which criticized Mohammed Hidari, an Iraqi mullah who supports the Iranian regime.
    Much of the population and many politicians regarded the cartoon as an insult to the Iranian revolution and Iraq’s Shiite population, and demonstrators gathered outside the newspaper to demand an apology.
    The newspaper published an apology on 9 February but it failed to defuse the hostility.
    “Targeting a newspaper in this manner is unacceptable,” Reporters Without Borders said. “After being alerted by the newspaper’s management the day before the bombing, the authorities should have taken the necessary measures to protect its premises and staff, and to make it clear to the demonstrators that there was nothing illegal about the cartoon.
    “The authorities must now investigate this criminal attack so that the perpetrators and the instigators can be arrested and brought to justice. It is crucial that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that journalists are safe.
    “In the current climate of worsening relations between Shiites and Sunnis, the media must act responsibly and must not exacerbate tension unnecessarily. Nonetheless, this cartoon did not in any way constitute an offence to the Shiite community. Tolerance of different viewpoints is the basis of a democratic system.”

    Yesterday, Fars News Agency reported, "Thousands of Iraqi people took to the streets in Baghdad to condemn the publication of a cartoon insulting Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in Iraq’s Al-Sabah Al-Jadid newspaper."























     
    Posted by at

    Tuesday, February 11, 2014

    Isaiah, Iraq, The Drone War, Third

    Another week.  And this time we get 2 comics.  Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "The Joker" went up Sunday and earlier today and his "Success."  "Success" is below.



    That's about Iraq and Nouri's assault on Anbar Province which has killed so many and which is a form of Collective Punishment which is illegal under international law.

    Turning to Barack's Drone War, Bill Van Auken (WSWS) reports:


    Unnamed “senior US officials” have told the Associated Press that the Obama administration is “wrestling with whether to kill [a US citizen] with a drone strike and how to do so legally under its new stricter targeting policy.”
    This extraordinary AP report publicly announces and justifies a drone assassination of an American citizen before it takes place. It has all the hallmarks of a deliberately orchestrated leak. Its evident aim is to lend a veneer of “transparency” and legality to a conspiratorial and unconstitutional program of state murder, all the better to institutionalize it as a permanent arm of dictatorial presidential power.
    The US officials who spoke to the AP laid out a scenario that fits neatly into the framework laid out by President Barack Obama in a speech delivered at the National Defense University last May, defending the program of extra-judicial assassinations, while promising a “high threshold” for ordering such a killing.
    The individual being targeted for a drone strike was said to be suspected of being a terrorist and “in a country that refuses US military action on its soil and that has proved unable to go after him.”
    Under Obama’s reported policy, such individuals must be killed by the US military’s Joint Special Operations Command, not by the CIA, which has been responsible for previous strikes.


    Barack is so disgusting.  He is a walking War Crime.

    Maybe someday he'll be put on trial at the Hague.

    We can only hope.

    At Third, the latest edition was worked on by Dallas and the following:




    The Third Estate Sunday Review's Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess and Ava,
    Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude,
    Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man,
    C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review,
    Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills),
    Mike of Mikey Likes It!,
    Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz),
    Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix,
    Ruth of Ruth's Report,
    Wally of The Daily Jot,
    Trina of Trina's Kitchen,
    Marcia of SICKOFITRDLZ,
    Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends,
    Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts,
    and Ann of Ann's Mega Dub.


    And here's what we came up with:


    And that's it for a very tired me.


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

     
    Monday, February 10, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, there's an assassination attempt on the Speaker of Iraq's Pariament, beastly gas bags weigh in flaunting their ignorance, NPR is delighted by 'fun' bombing victims, NPR is among the many outlets that failed to cover Human Rights Watch's report on the abuse of Iraqi women, feminist or 'feminist' outlets in the US also ignored the report (Women's e-News did cover it), the assault on Anbar continues, and much more.


    Let's start with the gas bags.  Former US Ambassador to Iraq James Jeffrey insists the US didn't fail and didn't lose Iraq and blah blah blah.  You know what, Foreign Policy pimps war.  They hire idiots like Thomas E. Ricks (oh, we'll to him, just wait) and when they seek outside views, the views are never outside.

    Everyone in the US did not support Bully Boy Bush trying to destroy Iraq.  But the only voices Foreign Policy wants to offer are the voices of war.  James Jeffrey pushed for war on Iraq.  He just needs to sit his ass down.  He's an embarrassment.  He writes today yet somehow ignores last week's Human Rights Watch report.

    Then there's the breasty Thomas E. Ricks who wants to quote Toby Dodge.  I don't have time to track down what Ricks is quoting.

    Here's reality, if Dodge said what Ricks says Dodge said, he's not just a little wrong, he's damn stupid.

    First off, Dodge is quoted stating that Nouri said any changes to the (2008) Status Of Forces Agreement would have to go through the Iraqi Parliament.  No, that's not the issue and it wasn't an issue.  This was not about approval for amendments.

    The stumbling block for the administration was the issue of immunity.  It was present in the 2008 SOFA.  If only amendments to it required a vote, then the State Dept's Brett McGurk lied to Congress last week.

    If Toby Dodge said or wrote what Man Boobs Ricks repeated, Dodge doesn't know a damn thing.

    I've never heard of anything so stupid from a supposed expert before.

    The Status Of Forces Agreement was a three year contract which governed 2009, 2010 and 2011.  The Parliament voted on it Thanksgiving Day 2008.

    For 2011?  Nouri and other political leaders told the US that Parliament would not vote for a continued US presence so -- and McGurk testified to this just last week -- US government gave up.

    As portrayed by Ricks, Dodge also doesn't grasp the argument Senator John McCain has presented.

    This is more crap from Thomas E. Ricks -- the blogger who makes Thomas Friedman come off timely and relevant.

    From the gas bags to the journalists, if you're ever trying  to figure out just how worthless NPR can be, they demonstrated it today as Mark Memmott made clear he wants to be the new Hedda Hopper.

    As he makes clear here, he never learned about reporting.  He spent his time instead on the phone gossiping.

    At least 21 people died in a bombing today.  We noted it, we noted the death toll.

    We didn't note that they were suicide bombers or suicide bombers in training.

    But Memmott does.  He 'backs it up' by linking to AP, for example.

    AP had no one present at the bombing.

    It's hearsay.

    It's already been established -- thought not for Memmott or any of the US press because they're so stupid and so they're deceitful -- but it's already been established that the 'terrorists' killed in an assorted aireal bombings carried out by the Iraq military were often not terrorists.

    In the Arabic world, they've been more than fine with doing journalism.  Visiting the areas, speaking to the people involved, documenting it with video.

    Journalism is not presenting as fact one side's claims.  Those of us old enough to remember Vietnam, are fully aware that the government -- the US government -- repeatedly lied about who got killed and the numbers killed.  It's no different than The Drone War today and all the lies US President Barack Obama and others in the administration tell about 'terrorists' -- who apparently stopped to attend a wedding, for example.

    What may be known is that 20 or 21 or 22 people died in a bombing.  Who those people were?

    That's the slutty US press which can never stop whoring.  Women in Baghdad die, they're "prostitutes."  That's the sort of the US press does (AFP has picked it up as well).  Dead women who can't defend themselves are labeled prostitutes and the US press treats it as gospel.

    There have always been prostitutes in Iraq -- male and female.  And many outlets know it.  Certainly the Go-Go Boys of the Green Zone were frequenting Baghdad prostitutes in 2003 and 2004.

    But they couldn't report on the prostitution.  One denied it.

    Off Our Backs was the only US publication to treat the prostitution in Baghdad issue seriously.

    NPR didn't take it seriously.  But then they rarely take issues that impact women seriously.

    The disgusting Mark Memmott finds it 'cute' that people died.  He'd insist he finds it cute that 'terrorists' died.  But he can prove they were terrorists.  The only source for that is the Iraqi government.  The same government that labels peaceful protesters as "terrorists."

    Memmott's never felt the need to report that either -- even though Nouri's been labeling protesters as "terrorists" since 2011.

    In Iraq, a lot of people get labeled as 'terrorists.'  An Iraqi female journalist, for example, was falsely labeled as one.  And the police knew it was false.  They tortured her anyway.  Because they didn't like her articles, they didn't like her reporting on the government's short comings.

    Mark Memmott has a case of the giggles today and amuses himself with Iraq.

    I guess he couldn't laugh last week when Human Rights Watch's released their report entitled (PDF format warning) "'NO ONE IS SAFE: Abuses of Women in Iraq's Criminal Justice System"?

    That must be the explanation for his failure to write about that.  No one at NPR wrote about it for the website.  None of NPR's national programs covered it.

    But let Little Marky have the opportunity to giggle over the-gang-who-couldn't-shoot-straight 'terrorists' and he's ready to run with it.  (Strangely, when Nouri's air forces bombed and killed a group of men at the end of last week -- a group of men who turned out to be Iraqi soldiers --  Mark Memmott had no interest in writing about that.)

    Mark Memmott takes the Iraqi government on their word despite the fact that journalists are supposed to question and to present claims they can't verify as claims.

    I don't trust Nouri's government because, unlike Mark Memmott, I pay attention.  This is from HRW's report released last week:


    The report finds that security forces carry out illegal arrests and other due process violations against women at every stage of the justice system, including threats and beatings. Israa Salah (not her real name), for example, entered her interview with Human Rights Watch in Iraq’s death row facility in Baghdad’s Kadhimiyya neighborhood on crutches. She said nine days of beatings, electric shocks with an instrument known as “the donkey,” and falaqa (when the victim is hung upside down and beaten on their feet) in March 2012 had left her permanently disabled. A split nose, back scars, and burns on her breast were consistent with her alleged abuse. Israa was executed in September 2013, seven months after we met her, despite lower court rulings that dismissed charges against her because a medical report documented she was tortured into confessing to a crime. 



    Do you get what happened there?  Mark Memmott can't because he's so stupid.

    But most of us can read that paragraph above and note that Israa Salah was not only tortured by Nouri's forces, she was also put to death "despite lower court rulings that dismissed charges against her."


    That should outrage most people.

    She was executed even after a court had determined she had been tortured to give a false confession.

    She was executed even after a court dismissed all charges against her.

    Most people can grasp that the woman shouldn't have been executed but instead should have been immediately released.

    Mark doesn't want to tell that story because it doesn't let him giggle or suck up to Nouri al-Maliki and others in power.

    It's an uncomfortable story, not a chuckle.

    And more and more -- especially with their ludicrous on air 'recipe' segments -- NPR can't offer anything but breezy nonsense.

    Morning Edition did not report on Human Rights Watch's investigation.  Terry Gross did not invite HRW onto Fresh Air to discuss the findings.  All Things Considered?  Nothing was considered when it came to the Human Rights Watch report because All Things Considered ignored it as well.  Diane Rehm had a whole hour Friday to fill, her so-called 'international hour' -- and yet she served up nonsense and crap and didn't even touch on Iraq.  Why do you have radio programs, public radio, when you refuse to cover investigations and human rights abuses.


    Let's go to the report again:

    For example, Fatima Hussein (not her real name), a journalist accused of involvement in the murder of a parliamentarian’s brother and of being married to an Al-Qaeda member, described physical and sexual torture in early 2012 at the hands of one particular interrogator in Tikrit, Colonel Ghazi. She described Ghazi tying her blindfolded to a column and electrocuting her with an electric baton, hitting her feet and back with cable, kicking her, pulling her hair, tying her naked to a column and extinguishing cigarettes on her body, and later handcuffing her to a bed, forcing her to give him oral sex, and raping her three times. “There was blood all over me. He would relax, have a cigarette, and put it out on my buttock, and then started again,” she said. 
    Women who spoke with Human Rights Watch, who all explicitly denied involvement in alleged crimes, also described being pushed towards confessions by interrogators threatening to hurt loved ones. Fatima described Ghazi passing her the phone, with her daughter at the end of the line, before threatening: "I'll do to your daughter what I did to you." 



    Again, the Human Rights Watch's report is entitled (PDF format warning) "'NO ONE IS SAFE: Abuses of Women in Iraq's Criminal Justice System."  Ramzy Baroud (Arab News) notes the report:

    “No One is Safe” presented some of the most harrowing evidence of the abuse of women by Iraq’s criminal “justice system.” The phenomenon of kidnapping, torturing, raping and executing women is so widespread that it seems shocking even by the standards of the country’s poor human rights record of the past. If such a reality were to exist in a different political context, the global outrage would have been so profound. Some in the “liberal” western media, supposedly compelled by women’s rights would have called for some measure of humanitarian intervention, war even. But in the case of today’s Iraq, the HRW report is likely to receive bits of coverage where the issue is significantly deluded, and eventually forgotten.
    In fact, the discussion of the abuse of thousands of women -- let alone tens of thousands of men -- has already been discussed in a political vacuum. A buzzword that seems to emerge since the publication of the report is that the abuse confirms the “weaknesses” of the Iraqi judicial system. The challenge then becomes the matter of strengthening a weak system, perhaps through channeling more money, constructing larger facilities and providing better monitoring and training, likely carried out by US-led training of staff.
    Mostly absent are the voices of women’s groups, intellectuals and feminists who seem to be constantly distressed by the traditional marriage practices in Yemen, for example, or the covering up of women’s faces in Afghanistan. There is little, if any, uproar and outrage, when brown women suffer at the hands of western men and women, or their cronies, as is the situation in Iraq.

    Is that fair?  Are feminists ignoring the report?

    Feminism is global.  I can't speak for what all of the world is doing.  But for Third, we did "Editorial: War Crimes against women and the outlets that ignore them" and it notes the US coverage - or lack of it -- including:

    Ms. magazine's blog never noted the report.
    While Women's Media Center has a campaign which insists "Don't Let Women's Voices Be Silenced in 2014," they have thus far let Iraqi women be silenced by refusing to write an article or even a Tweet about the HRW report (and they've 28 Tweets since the report was released).
    B-b-but the report just came out!
    Last Thursday.  And Women's e-News has managed to cover it. Sarah Sheffer covered it for The NewsHour (PBS).
    By contrast, NPR refused to cover it -- on air or at the website.
    They did 'tax' themselves by re-running an AP report.
    Women are tortured and raped, disappeared into prisons, their children threatened and this isn't news to Women's Media Center?
    WMC makes time on their awful Twitter feed to whore for the daughter of celebrities  but they can't do a damn thing for Iraqi women?

    So, yeah, in the US, there is a need to call out.

    Trina was on the phone earlier and she's addressing this at her site tonight because of something she saw online -- something covered by a feminist outlet that wasn't really news but the feminist outlet still can't cover the Human Rights Watch report.

    The silence in the US -- whether from the feminist press or the mainstream press -- is shameful.

    Today the European Union's Foreign Affairs Council issued a statement which includes:

    The EU considers that internal political divisions and sectarian tensions have significantly contributed to the deterioration of the security situation inside Iraq, to which a security response alone cannot be sufficient. The EU renews its call on all of Iraq's political and religious leaders to engage in dialogue and to speak out against sectarianism and violence. It encourages the Government of Iraq to reinforce the rule of law and take decisive  measures to promote inclusiveness and advance reconciliation, as Iraq's long term security and stability depend on an inclusive political process. 

     The EU is closely following the developments in Anbar province, including in the cities of Ramadi and Fallujah, and encourages the Government of Iraq to strengthen cooperation between its security forces and local Anbar tribes. The EU is deeply concerned by the large numbers of Internally Displaced Persons fleeing the conflict zones and emphasises the importance of protecting civilians. The EU also encourages efforts by the Government of Iraq to ensure the provision of essential services as well as access by humanitarian agencies to areas affected by the fighting.


    Let's move to violence and then we'll come back to the elections.

    In today's big news, know it's not the gossip, it's that the Speaker of Parliament survived an assassination attempt.   Reuters notes, "The speaker of Iraq's parliament narrowly escaped death on Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near his convoy close to the northern city of Mosul, his office said."  Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) offers, "In the northern province of Nineveh, a roadside bomb went off near the convoy of Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Governor Atheel al- Nujaifi, also brother of Osama, south of the provincial capital of Mosul, a local police source told Xinhua."  NINA notes the bombing left six security guards injured,  AFP adds, "Mosul and the surrounding Nineveh province, where Nujaifi’s brother Atheel is governor, is one of Iraq’s most violent areas, with attacks regularly targeting security forces, government officials and civilians."

    The US State Dept issued the following statement today:
    Press Statement
    Marie Harf
    Washington, DC
    February 10, 2014


    The United States strongly condemns today’s attack on the convoy of the Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives, Osama al-Nujaifi, in Ninewa province. Speaker Nujaifi has been a strong partner of the United States’ efforts in Iraq and we are grateful that he was unharmed in the attack.
    Today’s attack exemplifies the danger terrorist groups pose to all Iraqis, and the importance of Iraqi leaders from all communities working together to isolate militant groups from the broader population. The United States stands with the Iraqi people and will continue to work closely with Iraqi political and security leaders to combat those who commit such senseless acts.


    Osama al-Nujaifi is a Sunni, a group persecuted and targeted by Nouri.  In doing so, Nouri has allowed Shi'ite militias to operate in Iraq -- this after militias were supposedly outlawed.  But more than just allowing them to operate, Nour  is supporting Shi'ite militias.  In September, Tim Arango (New York Times) broke the story:



    In supporting Asaib al-Haq, Mr. Maliki has apparently made the risky calculation that by backing some Shiite militias, even in secret, he can maintain control over the country’s restive Shiite population and, ultimately, retain power after the next national elections, which are scheduled for next year. Militiamen and residents of Shiite areas say members of Asaib al-Haq are given government badges and weapons and allowed freedom of movement by the security forces.


    Loveday Morris (Washington Post) picked up the topic on Sunday and reported:

    Members of Asaib Ahl al-Haq, an Iranian-backed Shiite group responsible for thousands of attacks on U.S. forces during the Iraq war, admit they have ramped up targeted killings in response to a cascade of bomb attacks on their neighborhoods.
    “We’ve had to be much more active,” said an Asaib Ahl al-Haq commander who goes by the nom de guerre Abu Sajad. “Those who are trying to incite sectarianism, we have to deal with them,” he said, drawing his hand over his throat like a knife.

    Again, it's Loveday Morris and the Washington Post -- not AP as some outlets have wrongly credited the article.  Although the credit on this reposting of Loveday Morris' article may seem the most incorrect and brazen.

     Over the weekend, NINA reported:

     The Arab Political Council in Kirkuk expressed on Saturday 8 Feb. its surprise at the unjustified silence of the parliamentary political blocks, parties and organizations towards the humanitarian tragedy in Anbar province, and especially the city of Fallujah.
    Chairman of the Council , Sheikh Abdul Rahman Munshed al- Assi told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / : "We are very concerned for the effects and consequences of the current crisis, humanly and politically, a matter that requires everyone to stand and think to find an urgent solution to stop the bloodshed now ongoing in al-Anbar.


    Sunday, NINA reported that Sheikh Ali Hatem al-Suleiman -- a Sahwa leader -- declared that "the solution of the crisis in Anbar lies in a neutral third party and implementing the legitimate demands of the protesters." and that "the government should prove its good faith by stopping the shelling of cities and sending food and medical supplies as well as oil , in addition to the full response to the legitimate demands of the protesters." Motahedoon coalition MP Salman al-Jumaili stated Sunday that solutions were being ignored as the government continued to attempt a "military solution"  and that  "any initiative to resolve the crisis in Anbar cannot succeed if it does not include stop shelling and air strikes on Fallujah and other neighborhoods first, and the return of displaced people , as well as keeping the army out of the areas of contact with citizens and then re local authorities to enforce security."  NINA also reported on Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq:


     Al-Mutlaq said in a meeting with ambassadors of EU countries in the Greek Embassy in Baghdad on the occasion of handing over Greece EU presidency , that the military operations in Anbar province, left behind thousands of displaced families facing harsh conditions due to the extreme cold and lack of food and medical supplies , not to mention the other families still besieged and exposed to bombardment , threats and very difficult humanitarian situations.
    Al-Mutlaq discussed , according to a statement by his press office , with a number of ambassadors from the European Union, visions to resolve the crisis of Anbar and restore security and stability to its cities, and be quick in taking positions that would lead to compensate the displaced families and ease their coming back and repair the physical damage to their properties.

    Not everyone speaks out against violence.  Press TV speaks with history professor Ali al-Nashmi about the assault:


    Press TV: Do you think the government will win in this battle against such forces?

     al-Nashmi: No... I think the government... I don’t know, I think there is every opportunity for the Iraqi government they can win very easily when they attack Fallujah because Fallujah is a city, they are just some houses - then they can attack the extremists there using tanks or airplane or by jets.
    I am surprised. They lost that opportunity because most of extremists they have escaped from al-Fallujah to other places like Baghdad and in other places they are increasing the violence.

    I think if the Iraqi forces and the Iraqi government attacked the places they would achieve many things: they would achieve a military win because they would destroy those people – and they have killed many extremists; and it would be a political win because it would mean in any place in Iraq it would not be safe for al-Qaeda or al-Dasht.


    NBC journalist Richard Engel  notes al-Nashmi  in his book A Fist in the Hornet's Nest: On the Ground In Baghdad Before, During and After the War, al-Nashmi was a history professor when the US invaded Iraq.  Engel reports meeting al-Nashmi in a building being remodeled:

     A highly ambitious man, he gave me a tour of the new office space -- stepping over a workman scraping droplets of paint off the stone floor -- explaining the layout of the future headquarters of his new political part (the Union of Independent Intellecutals), socialist newspaper (The Dawn of Baghdad), magazine for children (as yet unnamed) and, he hoped, local television station. 
    [. . .] al-Nashmi was bursting with pent-up political desires.  Twenty years earlier, al-Nashmi had been arrested and tortured by Saddam's regime for starting a movie club in his home, where about a dozen of his friends would gather in secret every week to watch and discuss foreign films.  Al-Nashmi was first accused of founding an illegal communist cell and later of being an Islamic militant, a charge that seemed especially ill-suited, considering his secular views, Western dress and polished English.


    All the assault has done is add to the already intense violence.  Today?   National Iraqi News Agency reports a Kirkuk car bombing claimed 1 life, a Kirkuk sticky bombing claimed 1 life, a central Baghdad bombing (Bab aal-Muadham area) left a colonel injured, an attack on Judge Saadoun al-Hesniyani's residence left 2 security guards injured, a Falluja bombing left 3 people dead and six injured, an Aliyadhiyah roadside bombing left two Iraqi soldiers injured, a Musayyib sticky bombing claimed 1 life and left three injured, a southwest Baghdad roadside bombing (Baya area) left five people injured, a Shirqat roadside bombing left two Iraqi soldiers injured, a Hit roadside bombing left 1 police member dead and three more injured, an al-Shi'lar sticky bombing left three people injured, a suicide bombing near al-Sidikiyah bridge (near Ramadi) left 2 Iraqi soldiers and 2 police members dead with seven more injured, Falluja General Hospital was again shelled (by Iraqi military) and 1 person was killed with fourteen more left injured ("including a doctor and three nurses"),  a Nasiriyah roadside bombing left four people injured, a Baghdad home invasion left five people injured, a Samarra car bombing killed 21 people, a Mosul car bombing left eleven people injured (relatives of Nineveh Police Chief Khalid al-Hamdani), a central Baghdad sticky bombing left six people injured, a Baghdad attack (al-Obeidi area) left 1 person dead and another injured,  a Sadr City bombing left one person injured, a Mahmudiya bombing left 1 person dead and two more injured, and 1 corpse (bullet wounds) was found dumped in Abu Ghraib.

    Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 269 violent deaths.  Now let's move over to the issue of elections.  April 30th, parliamentary elections are supposed to be held in Iraq.  World Bulletin reports:

    Iraq's Independent High Election Commission asserted on Sunday that parliamentary elections will be held on schedule countrywide, including in the western volatile Anbar province.
    "The elections will not be postponed anywhere in Iraq, including in Anbar," spokesman Safaa al-Musawi told Anadolu Agency.
    "The commission has finalized preparations for the elections everywhere in Iraq, including in Anbar," he added.


    Last week, the Justice and Accountability Commission excluded 69 candidates from the expected April 30th parliamentary elections.   In 2010, the Justice and Accountability reared its ugly head surprising many -- including Saleh al-Mutlaq. Well the Justice and Accountability Commission is back.

    February 2, All Iraq News reported Nouri al-Maliki has nominated Basim al-Badri to head the Justice and Accountability Commission.  al-Badri is both Nouri's freind and a member of Nouri's Dawa political party. In 2010, the commission eliminated many candidates ahead of the parliamentary elections.  They eliminated Saleh al-Mutlaq, for example -- the current Deputy Prime Minister.  A few token Shi'ites were eliminated from running -- most of which were steadfast and vocal opponents of Nouri.  However, the bulk of the disqualified were Sunni politicians.  In all, they eliminated 511 candidates from running.

    Now the commission is back and Iraq Times reported Friday that they had banned 69 of the 379 candidates they had so far checked.   Mohammad Sabah (Al Mada) reported that many politicians are nervous such as Saleh al-Mutlaq.

    Back to Sabah who reports that the UNHCR has pointed out that, thus far, the JAC has not checked the names of prominent candidates.  (That would most likely mean Saleh al-Mutlaq's name has not yet been checked which would explain why he's worried.)   Sabah reveals they will be checking the names of 10,293 candidates in all.   He notes many observers fear the JAC is being used again as a net to remove the political rivals of Nouri.

    Looking at an early list -- small list of under 300 -- initially sent to JAC, you've got a list where the only thing that really stands out is the oldest candidate on that subset was born in 1940 and the youngest in 1982.  And then if you apply a little logic, why is anyone born in 1982 someone requiring a 'Ba'athist' check.  They were 20 years old in 2002.  If their birthday was in April or later, how close could they be connected to Saddam Hussein?

    Today,  National Iraqi News Agency notes they excluded 6 more candidates today.

    Zooming in on one person running in the elections, Rudaw notes:

     Berivan Navkhosh, the assistant head of the Akre health department in Duhok, is one of only two women hopefuls running in Iraq’s upcoming parliamentary elections. 
     Running on an independent slate, Navkhosh says, “It is to show the public that there are independent individuals running for the parliament and to show that political parties are not the only ones who nominate candidates.” 
    Navkhosh was once a member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the largest party in the Kurdistan Region, but says she has quit her membership in order to maintain her independence. 
    "I used to be a member of KDP, but it has been a while since I resigned from the party," she says. "My family is KDP, but people who know me know that I am no longer a member of the KDP."


    Changing topics, community member Marci e-mailed to inform I'd forgotten to note the new content at The Third Estate Sunday Review in of the other entries.  She is correct.  To make up for my oversight, we'll close by noting that content:



    Thank you, Marci, for catching that.


    npr











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