Tuesday, June 01, 2021

Cenk, Ana and the other Young Cucks

Hope everyone had a great extended weekend.  Maybe, like Marcia (see her "Memoridal Day weekend"), you got something done.  Maybe, like me, you just chilled with your kid and family.  Hope you had a rest and some fun regardless. 

 Now for Jimmy Dore -- or about Jimmy Dore.


That's Jackson Hinkle talking about the latest with regards to idiot Cenk and moron Ana.  The Young

Cucks?  Don't think anyone bothers with them anymore.  They're useless and they've been exposed for the fake asses that they are.  


It's embarrassing and they keep trying to attack others when they should both just fade away.


Cenk and Ana stand for nothing and they're sinking in the quick sands of fake assery as we speak.


 Here's a Tweet from the handle cancela lansbury:


As Director of Bisexual Affairs for ExxonMobil , I am pleased to announce we are painting all our offshore oil rigs purple

 

 

I think that's the funniest Tweet I've seen in the last seven days.  :D

 

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

 

 Tuesday, June 1, 2021.  A brief look at Iraq and at media lies.


THE PORT ARTHUR NEWS reports:

A Memorial High graduate is now a combat team commander in Iraq.

Captain Gregory Davis Jr. took over command this month from Captain Brandi Tregre.

Davis is leading the Louisiana National Guard’s Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

A change of command ceremony took place at Erbil Air Base.

Davis is a 2009 graduate of Memorial High School, where he commanded the school’s first NJROTC program.

Davis said the soldiers in this company have had more unique experiences in these past two years with mobilization, hurricanes, floods, ice storms, COVID-19 and deployment.


Leading a combat team.  Combat.  Oh, we're admitting to that now.  Mainly because you can't keep a lie forever.  They've been saying training forever.  Especially after ISIS was 'defeated.'  (It lost control of Mosul, it was not defeated.)  So for several years, the US government has lied that the US troops were in Iraq for training.  Over the weekend, the talking point became that the combat missions were over and they were just present for training.  And no one's supposed to notice that the script is being rewritten yet again.  Endless rewrites, caught in development hell as the Iraq War goes on and on.




We starve, look at one another short of breath
Walking proudly in our winter coats
Wearing smells from laboratories
Facing a dying nation of moving paper fantasy
Listening for the new told lies

-- "The Flesh Failures (Let The Sunshine In)," written by James Rado, Gerome Ragni and Galt MacDermot for the musical HAIR.


The Fifth Dimension took the refrain from the song and merged it with another song from the musical ("Aquarius") to end up with a chart topper.  It also weakened "The Flesh Failures." "Let The Sunshine In" was about openess.  Not just between people but about an open government.  A government's ies being exposed.  When you reduce the song to just the refrain ("Let The Sunshine In") sang over and over, you also dilute the point about how desperately sunshine (openess) is needed and why.


People think they're doing something new with media critiques.  They're not.  Media critiques start in what is now the United States before the United States starts.  What are Thomas Paine's truths but a rejection of an established media that censors while covering for the status quo.


THE NEW ARAB takes stenography and notes:

The US-led mission to combat the Islamic State (IS) in Iraq announced on Sunday that it will change its role from direct combat to support.

Coalition forces will be focused on providing support to the Iraqi army, and will no longer be engaged in combat missions.


Missing anywhere in that dictation where THE NEW ARAB notes that the US government began claiming in January 2020 (following the vote in the Iraqi Parliament) that they weren't doing comabt or even support missions.  


Just paper over everything with a new lie and don't ask any questions?  Keep listening "for the new told lies."


As we saw last week, activists continue to be targeted and assassinated in Iraq.  Ahmed Maher (THE NATIONAL) reports:


Investigations into the killings of political activists in Iraq since the start of the latest round of protests have failed to produce a single trial or prosecution, the UN has found.

Arrest warrants have been issued against suspects in limited numbers, the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq – known as Unami – said in the report, which covers the anti-government protests which began in October 2019.

“The rights of many victims and their families to truth, justice, redress and reparation have not been fully respected,” the report said.

Titled Accountability for Human Rights Violations and Abuses by Unidentified Armed Elements, the report documents a range of human rights violations and abuses carried out by state security forces and unknown militia groups, many of which operate outside state control and have links to political parties.

The targeting of political activists, human rights defenders and prominent protesters by armed groups is not a new trend in Iraq.

Human rights violations have included the excessive use of force, arbitrary detention and related ill-treatment and torture, and interference with freedom of expression – including restrictions on internet access and on media outlets reporting on demonstrations.

However, the number and scope of incidents increased after October 2019 as demonstrators took to the streets across central and southern Iraq to vent their anger at the country's political system. This is perceived by many as corrupt and unable to provide even basic services.

At least 500 protesters have been killed since these mass demonstrations began.


Halgurd Sherwani (KURDISTAN 24) also notes the UN report:


In its latest human rights report published on Sunday, the United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI) details investigative procedures the Iraqi government has undertaken to hold accountable perpetrators of crimes against the protesters who took the streets in October 2019 over the state’s structural corruption and weakness to resist foreign influence.

The 24-page report, titled, “Accountability for Human Rights Violations and Abuses by Unidentified Armed Elements,” comes as Iraq witnesses a new wave of protests demanding accountability and the end of impunity for the killings of demonstrators and activists.

Despite the government’s promises to investigate violations against protesters and activists, no one has yet been held accountable, according to the UN report.

“UNAMI could not identify any judicial investigations into crimes perpetrated by ‘unidentified armed elements’ against protestors and critics since 1 October 2019 that have culminated in a trial or prosecution,” the report said.



And that's all we're doing this morning, sorry.  I thought I'd be over the second COVID shot by now but my head is pounding and this is going to have to be it. I'm taking a shower (I worked out while dictating this) and then I'm going back to bed.




The following sites updated:




  • Friday, May 28, 2021

    Jimmy Dore, SUPERMAN & LOIS

    It's the weekend, hopefully, a long weekend for you with Memorial Day on Monday.  First up, Jimmy Dore:


     

    That is disgusting.  But let's remember that Joe Biden is the person who championed the law so students couldn't discharge their student loans by filing for bankruptcy.  


    I first learned of Joe and his latest failure in  C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Tuesday where she noted:



    Starting with Lucy Flores who Tweets this morning:


    Weary faceWeary faceWeary faceWeary face 


    This is in response to the following from The Gravel Institute:


    Biden just dropped student debt cancellation down to zero. That’s right, the Biden administration has decided to cancel $0 in student debt.


    The media keeps trying to sell Joe as the ultimate lefty.  Are they whoring?  Or are they just so dumb that they actually think Joe represents the left?


    Over to SUPERMAN & LOIS.  


    Jordan was taken to the Fortress of Solitude because of his problems with his headaches and his heat vision.  I don't see that it worked but whatever.


    When he got back, he was out of school and Jonathan was mad because he was left lying to everyone about why his brother was missing school.  Jonathan used his ear powers to tune into Jonthan at school speaking with Jordan's girlfriend.  Jon had been nice about Jordan but Jordan missed that conversation and instead got a kidding covnersation.  Jordan got bent out of shape and punched a hole through the wall -- something he hadn't been able to do preSviously when working with his father on this in the barn. 


    So let's jump over to his father.  Clark Kent and Lois are off to meet with Luther.  While Lois meets with him, Clark rifles through Jordan's van -- a smart van that talks.  That's how Clark learns that Lex Luther may be involved, the machine greets him as "Luther."


    Luther's telling Lois that he has to meet with Superman and Lois wants to know more about him before she sets up any meeting.  She tells him that he's been lying to her and she knows it.


    They discuss this, Clark and Lois, while off to see what the Jeff Bezos is up to.  Luther's smart van tells him of a lot of action in a certain section and he goes off as well.


    With his supervision Clark sees Luther further up the road then they are and he's blocking the road.


    Clark and Lois say this isn't the way and Luther says he has to do it because if the shipment arrives the world is over.


    Well they fight and the shipment does arrive.


    Lois sets up the meet with Superman.


    Superman flies in.  And, let's be clear, what kind of an idiot is Luther that he can't recognize that Superman has the same stubble as Clark, the same jaw, the same eyes, the same height, the same . . .


    He's supposed to be this super scientist.


    So Superman walks in and Luther tries to kill him.  He's flashed with these red lights that must contain Kryptonite and he begins beating Superman up.


    Lois has learned some things about Luther so she's on her way there.


    Jordan can hear his father in pain with his superhearing so he tells Jon.  Jon drives the family truck and Jordan guides him.  They rush in and they manage (together) to rescue their father.  Superman than has Luther captured and is really about tow ail on him when Lois says not to.


    So instead, he's imprisoned Luther while they try to get some information on him.


    Lana's learing that Jeff Bezos really can't be trusted.  That's pretty much the episode.


    It was a good one.


    I do want Jon to get super powers but even without that I am enjoying this show.

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


     Friday, May 28, 2021.  Some news is seen fit to print.


    At the top of yesterday's snapshot, the following appeared:


    The militias surround the prime minister's compound and you may be saying, "Huh? This wasn't on THE NEWSHOUR or CBS EVENING NEWS or . . ."  No, it wasn't.


    To its credit, 13 hours ago THE NEW YORK TIMES published Jane Arraf and Falih Hassan's report on what's been taking place:

    Iraq’s leader has been under intense pressure to rein in the dozens of paramilitary groups that are nominally under the command of the Iraqi government but have proved seemingly impossible for him to control.

    That was made abundantly clear this week, when Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered a move against one militia leader and quickly paid a price.

    After government forces arrested a paramilitary commander on Wednesday, Iraqi militias backed by Iran mounted a show of force in and around the heavily guarded Green Zone in Baghdad, in a confrontation that goes to the heart of who controls security in Iraq.

    Curbing the Iranian-backed militias that emerged in 2014 to fight the Islamic State — and have now become an entrenched part of Iraq’s security — was one of Mr. Kadhimi’s key promises when he took power last May. Bringing to justice those who kidnap and kill government protesters was another pledge.

    A year later, he is seen as having failed to deliver on either of them.

    The catalyst for the latest confrontation was an interior ministry arrest warrant in the killing of two young Iraqi activists shot in the Shiite holy city of Karbala. One was shot dead on May 9 by gunmen on motorcycles using silencers. He had survived a previous attempt on his life that killed a fellow activist, Fahem al-Tai, in Karbala last December.


    As noted in yesterday's snapshot, while the western press (wire services) were avoiding the issue of the activists, the Iraaqi press was reporting that the charges included the targeting of activists.  The one that is referred to in the last NYT paragraph above, the one who had survived one assassination attempt before being killed earlier this month, was Ihab al-Wazni.


    As THE NEW ARAB notes:


    Qasem Muslih is accused of giving the order to kill anti-government campaigner Ihab Al-Wazni, who was shot outside his home by men on motorbikes on 9 May in the holy city of Karbala.


    Ihab al-Wazni was on the minds of activists that turned out in massive numbers on Tuesday



    The protest movement in Iraq is organizing a mass demonstration on May25under the slogan(Who Killed Me)to demand justice for Ihab Al-Wazni, Hisham Al-Hashemi, Reham Yacoub and 800 others who have been killed with impunity since October 2019 #Tishreen_return_in_May
    Image


    "Liar Kadhimi! Liar!" a woman holding an image of assassinated protest leader Ihab al-Wazni leads a chant as protesters gather for a mass demonstration in Baghdad to condemn government failure to end killings of activists. rudaw.net/english/middle


    Also, freedom of expression is lacking in Iraq when you are a civil activist and criticize the parties and militias of Iran. You will be killed, as happened by the Iraqi activists, Ihab Al-Wazni, Fahim Al-Ta’i and others, thousands who were killed because of saying the truth.


    Wazni’s family have publicly accused Musleh of killing Ihab. "We charged him with the murder of my brother Ihab. My mother filed a lawsuit against him. We are sure that he was the mastermind of my brother's assassination," Marwan al-Wazni told MEE.


    The Crisis Group's Lahib Higel offers her take in the following thread:


    [Thread] As embarrassing as today’s events seem for Kadhimi there may be something gained for political elites that stand with the ‘state’ against the ‘non-state’.


    Whether Muslih is released or not, the reaction of Hashd faction’s only serves to discredit their own image. Since the Tishreen protests, and even before, the Hashd’s sanctity has been on steady decline among Iraqis.



    The killing of Ihab al-Wazni in Kerbala provided an opportunity for the government to capitalise on the street outrage and renewed calls for accountability.


    It facilitated the protests and utilised it as a pretext to target Muslih, whose background is not coincidental. From Kerbala, he long served as a commander of the Atabat security but during the war on ISIS turned to pro-Iran, Liwa al-Tufuf.


    With October elections around the corner, the government and its political backers, may benefit from provocations that discredit the forces opposing it.


    The question remains, however, to what degree these forces are ready to up the pressure. So far, it appears that negotiated settlements keep the political peace.


    In comparison to the aftermath of the June 2020 Dora raid when arrested KH members were released, the detainee is now held in shared custody of the joint operations command and the security of the Hashd. A minor nuance, yet a concession on part of the Hashd, even if temporary.


    I'm sure it was a political calculation as much as anything else.  Elections are supposed to take place this fall.  Despite stating he was going in as prime minister for a very brief time, he'd get elections and then get out, Mustafa quickly changed his mind.  He now wants a second term.  


    Where are the votes going to come from?


    Not from supporters of former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki.  His alliance is strongly critical of Mustafa.  The October Movement (the activism that began in the fall of 2019) might seem an ally; however, factions of the movement have announced that they don't intend to vote because Mustafa has done nothing as one activist after another has been killed.


    Remember, this is the movement that overthrew the previous prime minister. 


    And Tuesday's huge protest in Baghdad (and elsewhere, but Baghdad had the largest turnout) no doubt reminded Mustafa and his advisors of just how strong and large The October Movement actually is.  


    Due to COVID, a number had stopped turning out at the protests in recent months.  Rallying behind the assassination of Ihab, they turned out in full force and then some.


    That could be a huge voting bloc.  And Mustafa needs something to get a second term.  He's done nothing as prime minister. Nouri is his enemy (Nouri's State Of Law remains a large bloc with strong support) and the only one he's had any success with when it comes to reaching out has been cleric Moqtada al-Sadr whose influence has waned.


    Let's go into that for just a moment because it goes to the power of The October Movement -- a movement the US outlets have largely ignored -- from WSWS on through the corporate media.  Moqtada is a failue all by himself.  But people need hope and they rallied around him when he returned to Iraq after fleeing yet again.  He seemed to mature with the realization of how many people were vested in his success.  But then came The October Movement.


    As Moqtada always does, he saw a popular movement and tried to co-opt it and tried to use its popularity to argue for his own.  He didn't organize, he didn't inspire.  He tried to hitchhike on an already popular issue -- just like he did recentl on the demonstration in support of Palestinians held in Baghdad.  He was one of many militia leaders calling for a large turnout.  But the lazy, western press credited the turnout to him in one wire article after another.  Despite the fact that he and his spokesperson have a public record of verbally attacking the Palestinians going back to 2006 -- a reality ignored by the wire services but well documented on Arabic social media.


    Moqtada forgot that he had hitched a ride and then began trying to control the movement -- issuing orders to people who were not his followers.  When they refused to comply, he denounced them.  This resulted in a huge backlash so he quickly backed off that.  


    Then he tried to controlling them.  He issued orders that men and women could not protest together.


    That went over about as well as you would expect.


    At the next demonstration, women were only more prominent and various activists carried signs denouncing Moqtada.  He just couldn't let it go and still can't.  It was only weeks ago that he was serving up a veiled threat that women who are protesting should be "gang-raped."  Out of concern, you understand he raised the issue of "gang-rape."


    This is the man the western media refuses to challenge and instead glorifies over and over.  It wasn't always that way.  (Reminder, this is the same western media that reduced these protests to men only while we repeatedly objected to that lie.  I note that the wire services, when they carry photos of this week's demonstrations make a point to select ones that include women; however, with their large turnout, it's really impossible for the wire services to continue to ignore the women.)


    At any rate, Mustafa wants a second term but doesn't have the votes.  The arrest can be seen as a campaign offering, no question.


    I'm glad that THE TIMES reported on what's going on; however, it needs to be noted that the story was published hours after the US State Dept had already issued its own statement raising the issue:


               Rule of Law in Iraq

    The United States is outraged that peaceful demonstrators who took to the streets to urge reform were met with threats and brutal violence.  Moreover, the violation of Iraqi sovereignty and rule of law by armed militias harms all Iraqis and their country. We welcome every effort by the government to hold accountable the militias, thugs, and vigilante groups for their attacks against Iraqis exercising their right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly as well as for their assault on the rule of law.

    We reaffirm the U.S. government’s enduring commitment to the Iraqi people and a strong, sovereign, and prosperous Iraq.


    The following sites updated: