Tuesday, February 06, 2018

Ed Snowden schools fat f**k Rob Reiner

Rob Reiner should probably learn to shut up.

He's got a hundred and one issues and really doesn't need to be getting attention these days -- not at a time when so many are being exposed as predators.

But Rob's never been smart, just fat.


And now whistle-blower Ed Snowden is schooling the fool.


  Retweeted
 8 hours ago
1) Clapper admitted lying to Congress under oath. (watch the famous lie: ). 2) Brennan had the CIA illegally spy on a Congressional inquiry in an attempt to derail their investigation into CIA torture. Source: That is not service.
When you libel James Clapper and John Brennan you libel America. The desperate attack on men who have given over 90 years of dedicated service to our country is clear evidence of a conscientiousness of guilt.
103 replies1,107 retweets1,993 likes
 
 



Rob Reiner is an idiot.

He's a fool.

He needs to shut up.

He really needs to shut up.


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


Tuesday, February 6, 2018.  Selling war continues to this day, the US' latest propaganda push to help re-elect Hayder al-Abadi prime minister of Iraq, and much more.



 4 hours ago
On this day in 2003, US Sec of State Colin Powell lied to the world and began an illegal war that came near annihilating Iraq.
7 replies23 retweets23 likes
 
 


 Feb 5
in 2003 US Secretary of State Colin Powell, showing a tube allegedly containing anthrax, tells the UN Security Council Iraq possesses weapons of mass destruction
73 replies604 retweets472 likes
 
 


Colin The Blot Powell.

This day will be marked.  What about the day it became clear 'liberal' MSNBC was a fraud?  When Rachel Maddow began regularly pimping Collie's devoted and slavish servant Lawrence Wilkerson as a trusted source and someone for the left to embrace?


The little re-written ditty Ava and I served up when calling out The Blot in 2005 when he sat across from Barbara Walters and tried to rewrite reality ("Colin and Barbara Remake The Way We Were")  is still true of him and the media to this day:
Spin
In the place of real reporting.
Mushy soft focus moments
Not The Way It Was.

Unasked questions
Of the facts that are well known.
Facts that never will be buried
Of The Way It Was.

Can it be that spin can triumph fact
If we carefully rewrite each line.
If he had the choice to do it all again
He would -- he could.

Spin
May be full of lies and yet
If we push hard enough
Others will simply forget.

So it's the spin
We will hold onto
Whenever we discuss
The Way It Was.
The Way It Was.


Colin Powell sold the Iraq War and did so knowingly.  But Rachel Maddow gave Lawrence Wilkerson hour upon hour to pimp the lie that Collie was tricked, sweet, saintly Collie was tricked -- and Rachel not only never pushed back, she endorsed this lie.

She is the ultimate in fake news.


Colin's lies predate Iraq.

Late to reality about Collie?

Robert Parry was on to him long ago:
Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Part One
Retired Gen. Colin Powell has given some legitimacy to George W. Bush's dubious election. But what's the real story behind the Powell legend, from My Lai to Iran-contra to the Persian Gulf War? By Robert Parry & Norman Solomon. December 17, 2000.
Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Part Two
Colin Powell emerged from the Iran-contra scandal with his reputation intact, but a review of the secret evidence shows that the scandal might never have happened but for Powell's circumventing Pentagon rules -- and flouting the law. December 19, 2000
Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Part Three
In late 1986, the desperate call went out to Gen. Colin Powell at his command in West Germany. He was needed back in Washington to save Ronald Reagan. December 22, 2000
Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Part Four
Colin Powell achieved his icon status through his command of U.S. forces in the Panama invasion and the Persian Gulf War. But his acclaim came at a price. December 26, 2000

Behind Colin Powell's Legend: Part Five
Gen. Powell's reputation for integrity dodged a bullet when President George H.W. Bush halted the Iran-contra investigation in late 1992. This last segment of the series shows how Powell went on to near-universal acclaim with the Washington press corps. December 27, 2000


Ask yourself why Rachel Maddow pimped Colin as an innocent?

Then ask yourself why she never had Robert Parry on her show?  (He passed away last month.)

MSNBC spews lies.  They're good at standing on their soapboxes, they're just not good at telling the truth.

And please grasp that while she was more than happy to serve up (and endorse) Wilkerson's lies to paint Colin Powell in a better light regarding Iraq, when she had Colin on her show April1, 2009 (how appropriate for both of them), she never once asked of Iraq.

Yes, I am aware Lawrence Wilkerson has an opinion column in NYT today.  That's not a good thing.  Yet again, one of the liars about Iraq is given space while the ones who rightly opposed the illegal war are rendered invisible.  The ones who sold the illegal war should all just get gone (and, in the words of Fiona, "put away that meat you're selling").




Turning to election propaganda, US troops out of Iraq!!!!

Nope, that's not happening.

But the headlines and the term "drawdown" are confusing a number of people.

A "drawdown" is not a withdrawal.  It only means that a lower number of US troops will continue to be present.

CIPHER BRIEF attempts to walk readers through this and points out, "With Iraqi elections slated for May, and the indefinite presence of U.S. troops a divisive issue domestically, a drawdown would be both unsurprising and smart politics."


The Defense Dept explains the mission is shifting "from enabling combat operations to sustaining military gains."  Simplify that?  Lydia Magallanes (KALB) spoke with US Col Brian Sullivan ("commander of 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division") and he explained the changing mission as, "We continue to shift based on the needs of the Iraqis. Right now we are pretty much arrayed in the population centers in the north, center, and west and partnered with the Iraqis where they most need us to help them counter the ISIS threat and assist them in the stabilization effort."

No, it's not really much of a change.  But elections approach in Iraq.  They're supposed to be held May 12th.  US troops on the ground in Iraq has never been a popular position.

Vague headlines and reporting allow the impression that US troops are in the process of (fully) departing from Iraq.  That's not happening.

Hayder al-Abadi has so little to campaign on.  ISIS has not been vanquished from Iraq.  William J. Astore (CONSORTIUM NEWS) observes, "How about Operation Inherent Resolve against the Islamic State?  U.S.-led coalition forces have launched more than 10,000 airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since Donald Trump became president, unleashing 39,577 weapons in 2017. (The figure for 2016 was 30,743.)  The 'caliphate' is now gone and ISIS deflated but not defeated, since you can’t extinguish an ideology solely with bombs."


He's not accomplished anything.  And this makes it look like (a) he's driven US troops out of Iraq or (b) he's begun the process for that.

Nope, not happening currently.

GULF NEWS reports:

 The Badr Organisation, a Shiite group that has a minister in Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi’s government, in charge of the interior, said any remaining US troops would be cause for instability.
“The two governments should coordinate to ensure a full withdrawal. US presence will be cause for internal polarisation and a magnet for terrorists,” Badr spokesman Kareem Nouri said.


Again, this is a real issue in Iraq (even as the US yawns and pretends the Iraq War ended long ago).  Whether it will work or not, that is the point of the announcement.

Jack Detsch (AL-MONITOR) offers:

 “This is to give Abadi the visible reduction he needs to show before elections,” Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Al-Monitor. “The US knows it has the same influence with 4,000 or 8,000 troops.”
[. . .]
With Abadi facing an electoral threat from Iranian-backed militias that split from his coalition last month as well as resurgent Shiite rivals such as former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and former Transportation Minister Hadi al-Ameri, the prime minister “wants to pre-empt any electioneering on the issue of US presence, and is heading it off with pre-emptive reductions,” Knights said.


 

Reminder:




 7 minutes ago
2012 ~ World Health Organisation reveals its view on the legacy of the 2 battles for the town of Falluja, a new study reports a "staggering rise" in birth defects among Iraqi children conceived in the aftermath of the 2004 war.
3 retweets3 likes
 
 



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    • Posted by at

    Immigration -- the need to talk, and who killed Edwin Jackson of The Colts

    Mike Wells (ESPN) reports:
       
     
    The suspected drunken driver accused of hitting and killing Indianapolis Colts linebacker Edwin Jackson has been living in the country illegally and did not have a driver's license, the Indiana State Police announced Monday.
    The driver of the truck that killed Jackson and ride-sharing operator Jeffrey Monroe had been using the alias Alex Cabrera Gonsales, the police said in a release. Gonsales' given name is Manuel Orrego-Savala, and he is a citizen of Guatemala. Orrego-Savala had been deported in 2007 and 2009.
     
     
     
    Should we talk about this?
     
    Honestly, if it wasn’t ESPN, I probably wouldn’t be noting this.
     
    I support immigrants.  My mother works on this issue with a lot of people from our Church (we’re Catholic).  That’s making sure they know what to do and have the support network they need.
     
    And I want immigrants to have that.
     
    And I want to be able to point out the obvious, most undocumented immigrants are not killing people.
     
    A few are just like a few citizens of the US are.
     
    With the one above, he was deported twice already.
     
    How did he get back into the country?
     
    I don’t believe a wall would have stopped his entry.
     
    Maybe it would have.
     
    What do you think?
     
    I think we need to have these conversations.
     
    I think ignoring it – like I would have done if it had been any outlet other than ESPN – is dumb.
     
    The side against what I’ll call open immigration (my position) should be able to talk.  And, to their credit, they do.  And they will talk about this as an example of why we need harsher barriers.
     
    And if we’re just silent, that’s what’s going to happen.
     
    Ideally, people could travel and live where ever they wanted without having to put up with governmental approval.
     
    We don’t live like that and we’re getting more constricted every day.
     
    So we have a set up for letting people into the country.  And I’m glad we do.  But I feel we need to work on that and on expanding it specifically so that people who want to come here have less hurdles or less quotas.
     
    On this man?
     
    He needs to be deported.
     
    He’s been deported twice already.  He came back in a third time and this time he was a danger and ended up killing someone.  That’s wrong and I shouldn’t be afraid to say that or feel I need to pretty it up because I support immigrant rights and expanding our policy.
     
    He’s blown his chances and then some.  His refusal to remain out of the country has resulted in someone losing their lives.
     
    I will admit this is serious.  I hope others will be willing to admit that this is not representative of most immigrants.  And maybe we can work together to have safe and inclusive immigration policies.
     
     

      


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


    Monday, February 5, 2018.  Another drawdown but still no withdrawal, IPS ignores reality to pin the blame on the toxic nature of Iraq's environment on ISIS (IPS will apparently always provide cover for the US government) and much more.





     15 minutes ago
    Here are 3 things you should know this morning: - Some U.S. forces are reportedly being redeployed from Iraq to Afghanistan - Wall Street begins trading after the worst week in 2 years - "Super Sick Monday?" Researchers predict 14 million Americans will call in sick today

    0:28
    4,249 views
    10 replies28 retweets28 likes






    Susannah George and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) report the drawdown has been observed by western contractors and they get some confirmation from unnamed Iraqis. This is a drawdown -- not a withdrawal.

    How big is the drawdown? No one knows for sure at this point.

    And don't forget that Fort Drum is readying a deployment to Iraq.

    Oh, wait.  They're there as reported Saturday by THE WATERTOWN DAILY TIMES:



     Soldiers from the 925th Contracting Battalion formally marked the beginning of their deployment to Iraq during a ceremony on Friday.
    The soldiers will be the Regional Contracting Center and provide contracting support to enhance and sustain building partner capacity operations that enable efforts to counter ISIS and increase regional stability.
    [. . .]
    This is in addition to the approximately 500 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division headquarters who will also deploy to Iraq this year.


    A drawdown, not a withdrawal, is currently taking place.

    There's not been a withdrawal since this phase of the Iraq War started in March of 2003 (Ted Koppel warned at the end of 2011 but so few wanted to listen).


     1 hour ago
    For a year, I sent Marines to Iraq and Afghanistan sometimes I was the last stateside Marine they saw before leaving for a warzone. I remember people I knew from CLC-21 and I was the first person they saw, and they hugged me. Why the F**K are we still there? Iraq to Afghanistan
    3 replies4 retweets13 likes





    A very good question.








    Will Higginbotham (IPS) has a story -- story being the operative term -- about Iraq:

    In Iraq, thirty years of armed conflict has killed hundreds of thousands of people, wounded countless more, displaced millions and laid cities and towns to waste.
    Amongst all of this death and destruction, there is an often-overlooked victim whose harm has far reaching consequences: The environment.
    Whilst Iraq’s environment has suffered from degradation due to conflict for decades, in recent years it has been exacerbated due to the so-called Islamic State (ISIS).
    “Wherever ISIS has been there has been huge environmental destruction and with that have come potentially major health threats to the public,” says Wim Zwijnenburg, a lead researcher at the dutch not-for profit, PAX.
    Over the past two years, PAX has used public satellite images, social media and first-hand field research to track the environmental damage and the subsequent risk to public health in the northern parts of Iraq.


    It was that burning of oil, for example, that caused the environmental destruction -- not the bombs dropped on, say Mosul, right?

    "Right" as Nipsey Russell says in WILDCATS.

    It has nothing to do with oil and the US 'experts' who've decided that no damage to the local ecology is too great, right?

    In 2007, Luke Mitchell reported for HARPER'S about how the smell of oil was all over Rumaila nd making observations like the following:



     I was making that same journey from well to terminal, and yet in all my time in Iraq I would see the oil itself only once. This was in a particularly empty patch of desert, beyond even the lonely cinder-block houses and the rock-throwing kids. We had sped past dry concrete canals and abandoned oil drums and rocket-charred tanks, past mile upon mile of flat dirt and rust, and then we found ourselves driving between a series of mirror-black ponds. These pools crept along both sides of the highway, and through the scratchy ballistic glass of our SUV it was hard to tell at first if the liquid within was oil or water. There were no ripples, though—the pools were thick—and the hot asphalt smell was strong enough that it had become a taste. Sam said the oil came from leaky pipes, that there is no EPA watching over Rumaila. “You have to give the devil his due here,” he said, meaning Iraq. “On a good day, they export 60,000 to 70,000 barrels an hour. If 500 barrels of crude spill on the ground here, what is that? Not more than a half minute of export.”
    [. . .]
    We wandered further into the maze of pipes, and Sam paused in front of another tank. This was a desalting unit. Sam said the groundwater in Rumaila is so salty and alkaline that if you put it in your mouth you would gag and probably throw up.


    But the problem is the actions of ISIS?

     1 hour ago
    Seven months since Mosul was recaptured from IS, the stench of death still wafts from nearly every rubble-filled corner in the Old City, amid a government tussle over how to collect the bodies of militants and civilians still rotting in the streets:
    3 replies26 retweets11 likes
     
     
    Show this thread




    Civilians left rotting in the streets all these weeks later but it's ISIS?

    When it comes to Iraq, IPS broke with reality during the years Barack Obama was in the White House.  Even reaching with both hands now, it can't seem to find its way back.

    The problem remains that no one cared about anything but getting their hands on Iraq's oil.  When the looting took place in the early days of the war, what was Donald Rumsfeld's henny penny crack?

    They never cared.

    And they didn't care enough about the population to protect them.

    ISIS is a terrorist group.

    But it wasn't ISIS using White Phosphorus in Iraq -- it was the United States government.

    Depleted uranium?  That wasn't ISIS either.

    Iraq became a toxic place and that's why the rate of birth defects increased so significantly -- as did the rates of cancer.

    But here's IPS distorting reality yet again.



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