Wednesday, March 05, 2014

Glenn Greenwald trends on Twitter!

I like Mila Kunis who was on That 70s Show and voices Meg on Family Guy and does all these movies like Ted and Black Swan.

But . . .

She's now going to go on Two and a Half Men -- a guest spot. 

And I think that's not a smart move.

Because?

Ashton left Demi Moore.  The fact that he left for Mila has only been walled off by the two keeping it walled off.

Now that she's slumming -- which is what it is -- with a guest spot on that show, I think she's going to start feeling some push back and lose a lot of the good will she had built up.

I could be wrong.

Now let's talk about silly Glenn Greenwald.

Have you read his latest whoring?

Abby Martin is calling out Russia!  We're supposed to applaud!

Why couldn't people do that with Iraq!!!!!

Gleny didn't call out the Iraq War.  In fact, he went around cheering it on.

Does he think we don't know that? (Does he think we don't know that the billionaire he's sold his ass to is behind the takover of the Ukraine?)


Here's some of the reaction to him on Twitter:


  2. 15h
    Ben Cohen: Glenn Greenwald’s Hilarious Denial About His Support for Iraq War
    Expand
  3. 15h
    Glenn Greenwald admits that in 2003 he was "politically apathetic" and chose not to vote. He was 36!
    Expand
  4. 15h
    sad to say,I just realized that wouldn't have been you. Very disappointed to learn today that you were on wrong side of Iraq war
    View conversation

  4. Aug 30
    "Hi, I authored the lies that led to the devastation of Iraq, and now I sit in judgment of what 'journalism' is"
    Expand
  5. Aug 20
    Glenn Greenwald, a supporter of the illegal Iraq War, mocks US concerns about security on Anderson 360 - from, you know, a studio in Rio.
    Expand


  2. Jun 9
    Glenn Greenwald was a key backer of the Iraq War and of the surveillance program. He now profits from the selling out of his old CATO bosses
    Expand
  3. Jun 8
    For those asking me for sources on my comments about Greenwald's prior support for Bush:
    Expand  
     
     
     
     

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

 
Tuesday, March 4, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's assault on Anbar continues, his State of Law prepares to boycott Parliament on Thursday, is Nouri waiting to serve warrants on his political rivals,  and so much more.


Alsumaria reports that Parliament's Foreign Relations Committee announced that a private plane was charted to bring Iraqi college students studying in the Ukraine back to Iraq.

Ukraine?  We've been noting events outside of the snapshots for the most part.  We're bringing it into the snapshot today.

We're going to start with who Glenn Greenwald got into bed with this time, a billionaire who bought Glenn's ass and mouth.   When he broke the Ed Snowden story, we gave him credit for that.  And it would have been great to offer praise over and over.  But he's Glenn Greenwald and his circle jerk has always been pretty nasty.  Now it's apparently involved in attempting to overthrow governments.


Chris Floyd (CounterPunch) reports, "The Western intervention in Ukraine has now led the region to the brink of war. Political opposition to government of President Viktor Yanukovych — a corrupt and thuggish regime, but as with so many corrupt and thuggish regimes one sees these days, a democratically elected one — was funded in substantial part by organizations of or affiliated with the U.S. government, such as the National Endowment for Democracy (a longtime vehicle for Washington-friendly coups), and USAID. It also received substantial financial backing from Western oligarchs, such as billionaire Pierre Omidyar, founder of eBay and sole bankroller of the new venue for “adversarial” journalism, First Look, as Pandodaily reports."  Marcy Wheeler of Empty Wheel fame and now part of  Omidyar's First Look was speculating on who in the US might have been involved in the attempt to destabilize the Ukraine and Mark Ames (PandoDaily) pursued that angle:
Wheeler is partly correct. Pando has confirmed that the American government – in the form of the US Agency for International Development (USAID) – played a major role in funding opposition groups prior to the revolution. Moreover, a large percentage of the rest of the funding to those same groups came from a US billionaire who has previously worked closely with US government agencies to further his own business interests. This was by no means a US-backed “coup,” but clear evidence shows that US investment was a force multiplier for many of the groups involved in overthrowing Yanukovych.
But that’s not the shocking part.
What’s shocking is the name of the billionaire who co-invested with the US government (or as Wheeler put it: the “dark deep force” acting on behalf of “Pax Americana”).
Step out of the shadows…. Wheeler’s boss, Pierre Omidyar.

Yes, in the annals of independent media, this might be the strangest twist ever: According to financial disclosures and reports seen by Pando, the founder and publisher of Glenn Greenwald’s government-bashing blog,“The Intercept,” co-invested with the US government to help fund regime change in Ukraine.

What's going on in the Ukraine?  Left Voices explores that with  attorney, human rights expert and international law professor Francis A. Boyle.  (Click here for  SoundCloud.)





Excerpt.


Andrea Sears: This is Left Voices for Monday, March 3, 2014.  I'm Andrea Sears.  Tonight [. . .] is the crisis in the Ukraine a popular uprising or an orchestrated coup d'etat?  Russian forces have virtually occupied the Crimean peninsula without firing a shot and pro-Russian demonstrators have taken over the regional government building in the city of Donetsk in the eastern Ukraine.  Secretary of State John Kerry is threatening to cast Russia out of the G8 and the newly installed government of Kiev is calling on NATO for assistance.  From the protests in Kiev to the ouster of former Prime Minister Yanukovych to the military stand-off, the press is buzzing with depictions of corruption overthrown, massing troops and reported threats.  In the US, Russia is being condemned on all sides.  Without acknowledging any irony, [US Secretary of State] John Kerry, who voted for the invasion of Iraq, accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of "invading another country on a completely trumped-up pretext," calling it an incredible act of aggression.  Meanwhile, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina has called the Obama administration weak and indecisive and urged the President to do more than deliver empty threats to thugs and dictators.  And Republican Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is calling Russia an enemy of the United States.  At the height of the civil unrest in Kiev there were scattered reports that far right elements were playing a major role in the protests but there's been little follow up.  Francis Boyles is a professor of law at the University of Illinois College of Law and author of several books including Foundations of World Order.  Boyles says an audio tape that has appeared on YouTube -- allegedly a recording of a conversation between Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland and Geoffrey Pyatt, the US Ambassador to the Ukraine tells part of the story that's been missing. 

 Francis A. Boyle: It's clear what happened was that the United States government orchestrated a neo-Nazi coup d'etat in Kiev.  And the people in power there now are fascists, neo-nazis, anti-Semites.  You have at least four people from Svoboda in the government including one in charge of the security policies and another from right sector that's basically neo-Nazi skinheads.  So we launched a coup d'etat, put these people in power in Kiev and now it appears that Secretary of State Kerry is going over there to consolidate them in power and demonstrate the support of the US.  UK Foreign Minister [William]  Hague was just there.  It looks like we've mobilized NATO to their defense at least in terms of statements -- so far not troops, but we'll have to see what happens, how those further developments -- I don't know.  But one could certainly understand why Russia is concerned about us putting neo-Nazis in power in Ukraine and overthrowing a democratically elected government which we did do.

 Andrea Sears:  How much of this is the power play over the tension between Russia and the European Union and the United States over the eastern expansion of NATO into former Soviet states.  Has this been a major part of the conflict?

 Francis A. Boyle:  Yes, of course, that's what this is really all about.  As you know, Soviet President Gorbachev agreed with President Bush Sr. that, if he went along with the reunification of Germany that NATO borders would not move to the east.  Unfortunately, he was so naive as to note get that written in a treaty and only accepted oral assurances.  So the moment Clinton came to power, NATO was moved to the east right up to the borders of Russia and there two prizes left were Georgia and Ukraine.  In fact, Ukraine under the previous administration before Yanukovych signed a partnership for peace agreement with NATO and NATO membership was -- is the next step.  The European Union, this so-called association agreement, had security provisions in there which would have required cooperation with NATO.  And I regret to say today the European Union pretty much functions as a stalking horse and catch-all for NATO.  So this is all about extending NATO into Ukraine itself.


Fatimah (Carbonated TV) observes this is taking place on the anniversary of the start of the illegal war on Iraq (March, 2003):



  It is therefore rather ironic that the US, which led the attack in Iraq, is warning Russia that it is considering economic and diplomatic options that will isolate Russia for “being on the wrong side of history.”
Around 112,017 - 122,438 civilian deaths were recorded by Iraq Body Count (IBC) between 20 March 2003 and 14 March 2013 during the Iraq War. Although the conflict came to an end in 2011, the number of deaths is constantly increasing due to the ongoing insurgency the invasion wrought.
What’s worse, the grave mistake was never acknowledged by the then or current governments of the Western countries involved in the false cause.
So, is it not an act of sheer hypocrisy when such unapologetic invaders accuse another country of “violating international law” for committing the same mistake after a decade?
When Russia decided to attack Ukraine on Saturday, President Barack Obama announced that the U.S. would consider the aforementioned action against Russia.
Secretary of State John Kerry also condemned Russia’s “act of aggression over phony pretexts” in Ukraine.

The irony and hypocrisy of both of these statements is just unmistakable, especially when the White House – despite several appeals from the United Nations – has failed to halt its illegal drone program in Afghanistan, Yemen and several parts of Pakistan.


Singer-songwriter and musician Liz Phair (Exile in Guyville being her major classic) Tweeted:

  • 4h
    "We can't allow a nation (USSR) to enter another country just because they don't like the way a situation turns out" um, Iraq? Afghanistan?
    Expand         





    • Chris Marsden (WSWS) offers:

     Kerry and Obama have spent the past days consolidating a strategic alliance of imperialist and regional powers against Moscow—insisting above all that the European powers, led by Germany, take a hard line on Ukraine and on economic sanctions. In addition, Washington has repeatedly met with the leaders of Georgia and Moldova, encouraging both to make a high profile stand against Russia to encourage others to do the same.
    On February 26, Kerry spoke to the US-Georgia Strategic Partnership Commission, announcing additional US assistance “to help support Georgia’s European and Euro-Atlantic vision,” while denouncing Russia’s continued military presence in the breakaway Georgian territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia.


    Dave Lindorff (CounterPunch) weighs in noting:

    Of course there’s also the matter of the US role — overt and covert — in helping to fund and organize the mobs who ousted the elected government of Ukraine. That too was a violation of international law. For years now, the US has, through its National Endowment for Democracy, US AID, and other government and quasi-government bodies, been funneling money to anti-government groups in Ukraine (as it did also in Egypt and Russia itself, and as it is doing now in Venezuela and other countries whose leaders it opposes). The leaked tape of the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs Victoria Nuland and the US Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt discussing how to staff the new government of Ukraine after the anticipated collapse of the elected government shows how deeply the US was involved in the undermining of the government of Ukraine. Again, this interference in another country’s political system is a horrendous violation of international law.



    ,
    Nouri al-Maliki's assault on Anbar continues.  NINA notes Nouri's military bombed Ramadi today leaving 10 family members dead. While in Falluja?  Nouri's bombing of a residential neighborhood left 2 women dead and two children injured.  Felicity Arbuthnot (CounterPunch) reports on one day of Nouri's attacks on civilians in Falluja:
    On Thursday 30th January a source with contacts in Fallujah gave the names behind the statistics of just a few of the injured arriving at Fallujah General Hospital:
    Iman Mohammed Abdul Razzaq – 40 years old (female)
    Isaac Saleh Mohammed – 4 years (Male)
    Abeer Mohammed Saleh – 18 years old (female)
    Shorooq Borhan Ali – 7 years (female)
    Ashoaq Mohammed Jassim – 25 years old (female)
    Sarah Mohammed Odeh – 13 years old (female)
    Fatima Mohammed Odeh – 15 years old (female)
    Saleh Mohammed Abdul Razzaq – 45 years old (male)
    The hospital has been repeatedly shelled, the latest attack on the night of 9th - 10th  February. Al-Maliki’s militia have been filmed dragging the body of a young man behind a car and setting bodies alight.

    Nobel Peace Laureate Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron’s regimes are as culpable for their continuing support and facilitating of al-Maliki’s crimes against humanity as were Bush and Blair in the lies that delivered Iraq’s ongoing death and destruction.



    Proving that stupid reporters are all over north America and not just in the US, Philippe Labrecque offers a pool of stupidity at The Huffington Post Canada which opens:



     The oppressive treatment reserved to the Sunni minority by the Shia majority government under Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has opened the door to al-Qaeda's ex- affiliate, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), to gain influence and entrench itself to the point that the black flag of al Qaeda has been raised over Fallujah, a city for which the U.S. Marines fought hard and shed much blood in 2004.


    Poor Philippe, scared of his own shadwo, convinced al Qaeda's overrunning Iraq and thug Nouri is fighting a righteous battle.  Worship of government lies is a dangerous religious mind-set all its own.

    Poor stupid Philippe.  Carnegie Endowment for International Peace's  Marina Ottaway (Foreign Policy) has a better grasp on the issues:


     Of the 18 provinces in Iraq, 12 are in open conflict with Baghdad, including the three Kurdish ones. All are -- or hope to be soon -- oil or gas producers. With 93 percent of Iraq's revenue derived from hydrocarbon sales, the country could pay a high price if relations deteriorate further.
    Fraught relations between Baghdad and its provinces is, at least in part, a result of the U.S. occupation -- and of Washington's inability to decide whether to support a decentralized federal state or try to rebuild a strong center so that Iraq would not disintegrate. U.S. advisers favored the impossible: federalism, decentralization, Kurdish autonomy, but also a strong central government. Instead, the Kurds in 2005 forced through a constitution that gave their region considerable autonomy and severely restricted Baghdad's authority. The Kurds were elated, but American fears of a break-up of the country increased. As a result, the United States welcomed Maliki's growing assertiveness, backed him again after the 2010 elections, and ignored his growing authoritarianism. Iraqi provincial officials, on the other hand, grew resentful of Baghdad's heavy-handedness and increasingly envious of Kurdish autonomy.


    If you're not getting how right she is and how wrong Philippe is, NINA reports:

    The Rapporteur of the House of Representatives, Mohammed al-Khalidi said: "The presidency of the parliament has received a formal letter from the Basra Governorate Council, calling to transfer of the governorate to province."
    He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / "The Council has received a letter addressed to the council and the Council of Ministers and signed by a number of members of the provincial council in Basra, demanding to transfer Basra to a province ."


    Alsumaria notes that Ayad Allawi's coalition issued a statement today declaring that the indiscriminate shelling on the people of Anbar needed to cease immediately and that the government needed to enter into negotiations with the peaceful protesters.

    Ayad Allawi headed the coalition that beat Nouri al-Maliki in the 2010 elections.  Allawi should be prime minister.  But the White House disrespected the Iraqi voters and democracy and schemed to subvert the will of the people in order for thug Nouri to get a second term as prime minister.

    The demands of the protesters.

    The protests are going on right now.  They started December 21st 2012.

    In February, the last time the non-Iraqi press paid serious attention to the protests,  the press whored for Nouri and pretended he was responding to the demands.  He got his headlines, AFP, AP and everyone else refused to cover the protests and Nouri never met one damn demand of the protesters.

      
    Layla Anwar (An Arab Woman Blues) has summed up the primary issues of the protesters as follows:


    - End of Sectarian Shia rule
    - the re-writing of the Iraqi constitution (drafted by the Americans and Iranians)
    - the end to arbitrary killings and detention, rape and torture of all detainees on basis of sect alone and their release
    - the end of discriminatory policies in employment, education, etc based on sect
    - the provision of government services to all
    - the end of corruption
    - no division between Shias and Sunnis, a one Islam for all Iraqi Muslims and a one Iraq for all Iraqis.


    Nouri lied and pretended he would meet the demands of the protesters.  He lies so very often.   NINA reports:

     al-Anbar Provincial Council accused on Sunday 2 March the military forces of not being serious in resolving the current crisis and end the military operations in the province.
    Vice Chairman of the Council Faleh al-Issawi said in a statement to the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that the army is not serious in ending the crisis and resolving the situation and ending the military operations in spite of the initiatives launched by the provincial council and the elders and notables.
    Al-Issawi said that there are many initiatives launched by the local government of the council and the governor and tribal leaders and elders of Anbar, which included the withdrawal of military units and end the armed manifestations in addition to stop the random shelling , but the government does not listen to the initiatives and it is not serious in ending the crisis of the province.

    If you're late to the realities the Council is speaking of, from Saturday's "Nouri's cease-fire (just another lie):"

    A cease-fire?
    This a simplistic term.
    So if Nouri's saying he's extending  a cease-fire for Falluja the meaning does not require extreme analysis to comprehend its meaning.  Cease fire.
    Fighting stops.
    But Nouri is the biggest liar on the world stage and would still hold the title even if Kim Jong Il were still alive.
    If 6 'terrorists' were shot dead today in Falluja, for example, there is no cease-fire.
    If the military's shelling of western Falluja (Nassaf Village) today left three civilians injured, there is no cease-fire.
    If another Falluja shelling leaves 1 child dead and nine people injured, there's no cease-fire.
    So Thursday's hoseannas repeated by Sabah Karhot, Chair of the Anbar Provincial Council, to All Iraq News that Nouri's extended a 'cease-fire,' "'The duration granted by the Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki to suspend the military operations in Fallujah city, was extended for a week''?
    It's garbage.

    Nouri al-Maliki's word is always garbage.


    Parliament wants to address the ongoing assault on Anbar in a Thursday session.  Groups are announcing they will be present.  Iraqiya says they will be attending.  The Kurdish Alliance says they will be attending. Yesterday, Al Mada reported on the refusal by Nouri's State of Law to attend and quoted them insisting that such a hearing would be nothing but insults.  And today?  NINA reports:

    MP, of the State of Law Coalition, Sadiq al-Labban said that his coalition is boycotting the meetings of the Council of Representatives, and will not attend the meeting of the Council to discuss Anbar crisis, on Thursday . "
    He told the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA /: "The issue of the Anbar is a military issue , not a political , therefore it cannot be discussed in the House of Representatives , on the grounds that the armed forces are fighting the terrorists of ISIS , backed by Anbar tribes ."


    Not only is there no military solution, Nouri's assault on ANBAR has only revealed how weak he truly is as one city or town after another has been lost to him.



    Today, Democracy Now! and Amy Goodman finally and briefly found Falluja:

     AMY GOODMAN: We turn now to Iraq. A new report by Truthout has revealed doctors, residents and NGO workers in the city of Fallujah are accusing the Iraqi government of war crimes and crimes against humanity in its ongoing attack against the city. According to one account, at least 109 civilians have been killed and 632 wounded since January, when Iraqi government forces began shelling Fallujah in its fight against militants.
    For more on this, we’re joined by Dahr Jamail, staff reporter at Truthout. He’s joining us from Doha, Qatar.
    Dahr, tell us what you found.
    DAHR JAMAIL: By phoning in to several doctors in Fallujah—well, one of them, in fact, who is—had to flee because her home was being shelled, so she had to take her family and leave—but after speaking with all three of them, I found, you know, the really shocking numbers that you just discussed as far as the total numbers of dead and wounded. But in addition to that, they’re all claiming, from different parts of the city, that it’s really indiscriminate firing, that the military, the Iraqi military, that they all are referring to as Maliki—as in Prime Minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki’s military—that Maliki’s army has been shelling the city indiscriminately, that they aren’t—they aren’t seeing any official targets or anything military for them to target, that the main hospital, Fallujah General Hospital, has been shelled, that we have a situation where apparently several mosques have been shelled, and unknown numbers of civilian homes have also been shelled. And in addition to the numbers that you just spoke of, we—according to Dr. Ahmed Shami, the head of—the chief of resident doctors at Fallujah General Hospital, there’s been at least 10 children killed, 40 wounded, and in addition to that, five women killed and at least 35 wounded. And those statistics are now a few days out of date, and the shelling has continued since I wrote this report.


    Let's go back to the topic of violence and start with the attack everyone was covering.

    Yang Yi (Xinhua) reports, "Iraqi security forces freed many hostages held by suicide bombers who stormed the city council of Samarra city in Iraq's Salahudin province earlier on Tuesday, leaving five people killed and 48 wounded, a provincial police source said."  Ghazwan Hassan, Ahmed Rasheed, Ned Parker and Angus MacSwan  (Reuters) note the rebels held the council and court house "for four hours," that 4 police officers were killed as well as 3 civilians  -- shot by Nouri's forces who "opened fire to retake the site."  Mahmud Saleh (AFP) adds that "Two bombers dressed in police uniforms shot dead a policeman and took control of the council headquarters with employees inside, a police lieutenant colonel said."  Alsumaria counts 6 suicide bombers.


    That wasn't the only violence in Iraq.


    Bombings?


    National Iraqi News Agency reports a Mosul suicide bomber and a car bombing attacked police headquarters leaving the suicide bomber dead and 1 member of the police dead with four more injured, a south Baghdad (Latifiya area) sticky bombing killed 1 person, a battle in Kraw Village left 1 Sahwa dead and another injured, an Eraibi roadside bombing left 2 police members dead and one person injured,  a Hit roadside bombing left 1 police member dead and three more injured, and an al-Muqdadiya sticky bombing left one person injured.


    Shootings?


    National Iraqi News Agency reports  a battle in Kraw Village left 1 Sahwa dead and another injured,  1 police member was shot dead "and an intelligence officer injured" in Qayyarah (the intelligence officer has been identified as Captain Maher Jassim),  security forces announced they killed 5 suspects in Ramadi, 1 police member was shot dead in Imam Wayis,  the Interior Ministry announced 1 suspect was killed in Um Tasah, border guards shot dead 1 person attempting to enter Iraq from Syria, 2 people were shot dead "walking in al-Karabilah area" in Anbar, a battle in Ramadi left 4 rebels dead, and an armed battle in Alsjer left 2 Iraqi soldiers dead and four injured,  All Iraq News adds a battle in western Baghdad left 3 rebels dead.  Alsumaria notes security forces state they killed 9 suspects in Nineveh Province. and the Ministry of the Interior states they killed 3 suspects west of Baghdad.



    Iraq was briefly noted in today's US State Dept press briefing moderated by Jen Psaki:

    QUESTION: Okay. Tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and Baghdad have escalated over the past week, ever since the Baghdad government formally suspended the budget, the 2014 budget of the Kurdistan region.
    MS. PSAKI: Mm-hmm.
    QUESTION: What’s your position on the suspension of the KRG’s budget?
    MS. PSAKI: Well, we urge Iraq’s Council of Ministers, the Iraqi parliament, and Iraq’s regional, sub-regional governments to address the outstanding issues that remain as quickly as possible so that the national budget can move forward to a vote. While this is essentially an internal Iraqi matter, U.S. officials are engaged as appropriate with senior Iraqi leaders to support efforts to resolve differences through direct dialogue and the political process, consistent with the Iraqi constitution. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Brett McGurk arrived in Iraq on Monday, and he will meet with officials in Baghdad and Erbil to address ongoing issues and urge all sides to reach a swift resolution.
    QUESTION: You don’t have anything specific about the suspension of the budget? Because Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan region, has called that a declaration of war against our people.

    MS. PSAKI: I think I just conveyed to you what our position is. Obviously, Deputy Assistant Secretary Brett McGurk is on the ground. We of course believe that these issues should be addressed as quickly as possible.


    The worthless State Dept ignores the human rights abuses but whores for oil.  We have little room here but Alsumaria is reporting that another arrest warrant has been issued against Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi -- this one calling him an enemy of the state.  We're bringing it up because it's thought that this is a series of warrants and that one not yet issued, but which may be issued, is for Moqtada al-Sadr, cleric and movement leader.

    I'm not accusing Moqtada al-Sadr of any crimes.  I don't believe Tareq is guilty of any.  But an Iraqi MP e-mailed about this story and the rumors in Parliament that Moqtada fled to Iran because he was tipped off that the Nouri had ordered the criminal court to prepare a warrant for him.

    Cleric and movement Moqtada al-Sadr announced his political retirement February 15th.  February 18th, he delivered a speech --  CounterPunch posted the speech in full  -- emphasizing his decision. February 26th,  NINA noted the rumors that Moqtada left Iraq today, "The sources noted in a press statement that Mr. Muqtada al-Sadr left today's afternoon the city of Najaf heading to the Islamic Republic of Iran in order to complete his religious studies and stay away from the political scene as he officially announced for all Iraqis."

    Again, I'm not accusing Moqtada of crimes.  I do accuse Nouri of using the courts to go after his political rivals.  And I'm noting this due to an e-mail from an Iraqi MP who believes that the warrant against Tareq (who's already been illegally convicted in Iraq and sentenced to the death penalty four or five times now) is part of a series of warrants Nouri has had the Iraqi courts prepare against his rivals.















    reuters
    ahmed rasheed




    Posted by at

    Tuesday, March 04, 2014

    Frozen and other things

    Well my daughter's happy, Frozen won.  She was asleep and Elaine and I were thinking, "Wake her up or not?"  She was honestly bored with the award show.  But she wanted to see her film win.  Elaine said, "If we wake her up and Frozen doesn't win, you're the one explaining."  I laughed and we nudged her awake and she was so happy.

    I was happy for her and Frozen really is a good animated film.

    The last one I liked was the rapunzel like film.-- Tangled!

    Tangled really is a great film.

    I'd say Tangled, Frozen and A Cat in Paris are the best animated films of the 2010s so far.  They really are something and you should enjoy them regardless of your age (for those who think 'kids film,' they work as films, not just a children's films). 



    Our theme posts were:

    "Bruce Dern is my pick," "Alfonso Cuaron for Best Director," "I hope Catherine Martin wins Sunday night," "Best Documentary," "i'm rooting for julia roberts ...," "Best Actress: Judi Dench," "The Missing Picture," "Bradley Cooper," "Oscar food in the Kitchen," "Leonardo" and "Matthew McConaughey"



    Those were not predictions, they were who we wanted to win.

    And I wish The Square had won Best Documentary.

    It really was good.

    Alice e-mailed that I just wrote that because I didn't want to support Jerry Scrotum Scahill.

    Jerry Scrotum was not going to win.  That was taken care of in January with a series of parties.

    He wants to be part of the real left, he'll need to take accountability and stop pretending as though he's been a critic of Barack.

    In the last two years, maybe.  But before that it was weakish criticism and before that it was hero worship. 

    Jerry Scrotum's hero worship (and lies) helped Barack get the nomination and win the election.

    Little whores like Jerry weren't going to win an award when the real left voters (like C.I.) were tossing and attending parties to ensure that his little film went down in flames.

    C.I. can and has killed a documentary before.  She knows how to do it, she knows how to ensure that the other voters are turned off to a film.  She also, at the request of a friend, worked to get votes for Cate Blanchett. 

    I think those were the only ones she was working on but she may have been working on Matthew's nomination too. 

    Okay, let me note the latest from Norman Pollack at CounterPunch:


    I welcome Russian intervention in Crimea. No, I’m not a Stalinist wannabe, nor, to paraphrase the current put-down of critics of Israel, a self-hating American; rather, fair is fair in international politics, and invoking a double standard only contributes to the wrongful party’s growing aggressiveness, in this case, the US, and its speaking for the Western Community, together a matrix for global privatization under IMF tutelage, supported largely through military means. Yanukovych was no bargain, but he was democratically elected—and to deny that his being tossed out through the use or threat of force was a coup illustrates the double standard.
    To deny America’s consistent record of shaping the sociopolitical, economic, and ideological forces of counterrevolution, even now, beyond Ukraine, encompassing Latin America (especially Venezuela) and the Far East (Obama’s transparent effort through both his Pacific-first strategy and Trans-Pacific Partnership, to encircle, isolate, and maneuver, via the “pivot” of military assets, the confrontation with, China) further exemplifies the double standard. Targeted assassination is merely the cherry on top of the sundae of America’s war-provoking hypocrisy. Off-topic? Hardly, for this directly illuminates the situation in Ukraine and particularly Russian military action in Crimea.
    Demonize Putin to the heavens (oops, wrong direction) as a master stroke of obfuscation, nicely fitted into the national malaise of denial, so that the National Security State can proceed with impunity in its organization of the mental life of Americans—instilling fear, stimulating xenophobia and ethnocentrism, accustoming us as a people to the doctrine of permanent war—inseparable from the financialization and militarization of American capitalism in a political milieu of deregulation and economic milieu of monopolization. Fortress America looks abroad, its CIA-JSOC paramilitary operations primarily geared to regime change out of the limelight, its reliable international-financial-partner, the IMF operationally the same, where all can see.



    Now let me note Third because I am tired.  Dallas and the following worked on the edition:




    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:




     Glen Ford on Barack.

    Felicity Arbothnut on Iraq.
    Jim breaks down the edition.

    This wasn't working.  And Ava and C.I. weren't in the mood for a never-ending writing edition.  They and Wally came up with addressing the same topic but as an acceptance speech.  That made all the difference.

    Ava and C.I. cover Ronan Farrow and his new show.  This is hilarious at the end.  They're also sympathetic to him because of his sexuality (which Mia doesn't want him to announce) and also because Mia dragged him to an analyst at a young age to 'cure' him.  You really need to read this piece.

    And here, Ava and C.I. take on Mia Farrow.  They note the details that keep getting left out.

    We reflect on the Oscars briefly.

    What we listened to.

    Jane Fonda, we all agree, gave the best performance of anyone in Klute.

    We go with "Let The River Run" as the Oscar's best choice for song.

    And Callie Khouri.

    This is a round up of our theme posts and readers of Third's picks.

    Jim was so upset that Ava and C.I. critiqued Seth Meyers last Tuesday at The Common Ills.  They cover TV at Third!  Well Jim told me that over 700 people have read this repost.  Ava and C.I.'s other two articles, the new ones, have much more clicks than that; however, 700 is more than Jim expected on this repost so he's happy.

    From Senator Patty Murray's office.

    Repost from Workers World.

    Repost from Great Britain's Socialist Worker.

    And a look at the past week's best posts.



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

     
    Monday, March 3, 2014.  Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's assault on Anbar continues, Nouri's war on the Kurdistan Regional Government continues, a new development is that not everyone will be allowed to vote in the scheduled April 30th elections, US Secretary of State John Kerry and his bellowing at Russia draw attention and should draw attention to the fact that he and the State Dept are doing damn little on Iraq, and much more.




    The votes are in and US Secretary of State John Kerry has won the Hypocrisy Award.




  • 1h
    Kerry's complaints abt Russian violation of int'l law would be more potent if he hadn't voted for plainly illegal Iraq War as senator
    Expand         

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  • 5h
    If US intervenes in Kosovo, Iraq, or Syria, intn'l law is irrelevant. If wants to intervene in , intn'l law is paramount.
    Expand         

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  • 5h
    From the man who voted to invade Iraq: ": Invasion is not the act of someone who is strong. It is the act of someone who is weak."
    Expand         




    • Timothy McGrath (Global Post) points out:

     Maybe US Secretary of State John Kerry has forgotten about the Iraq War.
    How else could he appear on "Face the Nation" and, with a straight face, slam Russia for "invading another country on completely trumped-up pretext"?

    International law expert Francis A. Boyle elaborates,  "John Kerry is claiming to stand for international law and invokes the 1994 Budapest Agreement. Of course the U.S. has repeatedly violated international law, with the Iraq invasion (which Kerry voted for) and numerous other instances. But even in this case, if you examine the Victoria Nuland [assistant secretary of state] tape, it's clear that the U.S. was plotting a coup in the Ukraine and a coup is what happened. So Russia is only the second country guilty of violating Ukrainian sovereignty and the Budapest Agreement in response to the previous violations by the Obama administration."


    Of course, the real comment here should be that Kerry needs to close his mouth and sit his ass down because, yet again, he's forgotten he's over Iraq for the US government.

    Yet again, he's sticking his nose everywhere except where it should be going.


    What did he do during February on Iraq?

    Because Americans should be outraged by the billions the State Dept is given to carry out some secretive mission (they won't explain it to Congress and we'll only offer generalities) in Iraq.


    What is that money accomplishing?

    It doesn't appear to accomplish anything and Kerry doesn't appear to be engaged in Iraq at all.  With the State Dept being over Iraq and it being their biggest money item after Afghanistan, the State Dept should be issuing statements on Iraq weekly and it should be a regular part of the daily press briefing.

    But it's not.

    And anytime Kerry speaking these days, it's as though he thinks he's president or vice president and not Secretary of State.

    I voted for Kerry in 2004, I campaigned for him, I supported him in the primary.

    But I can admit that didn't work out and he did not become president.  It's time he learned to admit that as well because while he barks and bellows at Russia, we're left with the ongoing crises in Iraq -- plural.

    Let's start with the violence.

    Friday was the end of the month.  As we noted at Third Sunday, "Iraq Body Count sees 930 violent deaths for February, UNAMI counts 703, Margaret Griffis and Antiwar.com count 1,705."  AFP's Prashant Rao Tweeted on the death toll:

  •         

  • Mar 1
    ICYMI, new figures showed more than 700 people were killed in Iraq last month - 's wrap:
    Expand     


    • Human Rights Watch's Kenneth Roth Tweeted:
    • Exactly.

    And what is the US government doing about Nouri's assault on the Sunnis?

    Not a damn thing.

    Wait, they keep congratulating him.  They're doing that.

    They're congratulating him.

    They're joining in the pretense that the assault on Anbar (which no one wants to point out has crept into Salahuddin, Nineveh and Diyala provinces) is about 'terrorism.'  Dahr Jamail (Truthout) explains:


    Doctors, residents and NGO workers in Fallujah are accusing the Iraqi government of "war crimes" and "crimes against humanity" that have occurred as a result of its ongoing attack on the city.
    Dr. Ahmed Shami, the chief of resident doctors at Fallujah General Hospital, told Truthout that since Iraqi government forces began shelling Fallujah in early January 2014, at least 109 civilians have been killed and 632 wounded.


    Felicity Arbuthnot (BRussells Tribunal) notes who's backing and arming the tyrant:


    However, the US and UK are seemingly remarkably selective when it comes to tyrants who "kill their own people".
    Not only have they failed to censure their tyrannical Iraqi puppet, Nuri al-Maliki, but they are also arming him to the teeth with the same weapons which are linked to the horrific birth defects, and cancers throughout the country, which he is now using on "his own people".
    Moreover, if allegations from very well informed sources that he holds an Iranian passport are correct, to say that US-UK's despot of choice appears in a whole new political light would be to massively understate.
    To facilitate Al-Maliki's assault on Iraq's citizens, the US "rushed" 75 Hellfire missiles to Baghdad in December. On 23rd January Iraq requested a further 500 Hellfires, costing $82 million - small change compared to the $14 billion in weapons provided by America since 2005.
    The AGM-114R Hellfire II, nauseatingly named 'Romeo', clocked in at: $94,000 each - in 2012. A shopping spree on weaponry in a country where electricity, clean water, education and health services have all but collapsed since the fall of Saddam Hussein.
    The re-invasion of Iraq
    Two weeks ago an "American cargo jet loaded with weapons" including 2,400 rockets to arm Iraqi attack helicopters also arrived in Baghdad.
    Subsequently a contract was agreed to sell a further 24 AH-64E attack helicopters to Iraq "along with spare parts and maintenance, in a massive $6.2 Billion deal."
    With them comes the reinvasion of Iraq, with: "hundreds of Americans" to be shipped out "to oversee the training and fielding of equipment". Some are "US government employees" - read 'military' - plus a plethora of "contractors" - read mercenaries.
    According to Jane's Defence Weekly, on 15th November 2013 Iraq also took delivery of "its first shipment of highly advanced Mi-35 attack helicopters as part of a $4.3 Billion arms purchase from Russia", out of an order of "about 40 Mi-35 and 40 Mi-28 Havoc attack helicopters".

    The all to "attack his own people" in the guise of defeating 'Al Qaida' in Anbar province and elsewhere where the people have been peacefully protesting a near one man regime of torture, sectarianism, kangaroo courts which sentence victims who have also had confessions extracted under torture.


    While US politicians apparently crapped on their courage and had to send it out to be cleaned, more and more Iraqi politicians are speaking their minds.   Hamza Mustafa (Asharq al-Awsat) reports:


    The leader of Iraq’s National Dialogue Front (NDF) and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh Al-Mutlaq has called for an end to the government siege of cities in Anbar province on humanitarian grounds.

    A statement issued by Mutlaq’s office said: “Many besieged families who could not leave are still threatened by the bombardment and lack of food and medical supplies, and they suffer difficult conditions.”
    The statement added: “Army field commanders must face up to their responsibilities towards the besieged people and coordinate with humanitarian aid teams and open routes to allow food and medical supplies to reach the families, who include women and children.”

    al-Mutlaq told All Iraq News, "There are many families who could not get out of the areas that suffer the danger of armed operations and they suffer the lack of food and medical supplies in Fallujah and Habaniya areas."  National Iraqi News Agency notes he expressed concern for the "women and children and the elderly."

    Nouri's pursuit of 'terrorists' in Falluja?  Yesterday, NINA reported, Nouri's military shelled Falluja Sunday evening leaving eight civilians injured.   Saturday, NINA reported the military's shelling of western Falluja (Nassaf Village) left three civilians injured and another Falluja shelling leaves 1 child dead and nine people injured. How many people is Nouri allowed to kill, how many children is he allowed to kill before the White House starts to ponder that maybe arming Nouri wasn't such a bright idea?  Today, Anadolu Agency reports:
    Four Iraqis have been killed in an airstrike that targeted a passenger vehicle in the western city of Fallujah, a tribal source said Monday.
    "The aircraft shelled a vehicle carrying ten people in the city," the source told Anadolu Agency."
    And in another incident today, NINA notes Nouri's shelling of residential areas in Falluja left ten people injured -- including three children.

    For those thinking, "Wait, Thursday it was announced Nouri had agreed to a cease-fire on Falluja to last a week"?  Yeah, we covered that Saturday in "Nouri's cease-fire (just another lie)" -- Nouri's not to be trusted, he never keeps his word.  In the summer of 2006, while he was out of the country, barriers were put up angering Iraqis -- put up by the US -- and Nouri swore they would come down immediately, just as soon as he returned to Iraq.  They didn't come down he returned.  They didn't come down a week later or a month later or a year later . . .  That was his first public promise and he broke it.

    There have been so many more since 2006, there was his public promise in the fall of 2010 to finally implement Article 140 of the Constitution and hold a census and referendum in Kirkuk.  There was his promise, in February 2010, to end corruption in 100 days (if the protesters stopped demonstrating -- and they believed him but he never ended corruption).  There was his legal and contractual promise (The Erbil Agreement) to form a power-sharing government in November 2010.  We could list his many broken promises all day.  How about February 2010 when he promised AFP he wouldn't run for a third term?


    And Nouri's assault isn't just killing and wounding people, it's also displacing them.  As Mustafa Habib (Niqash) reported last month:


     According to the most recent official figures about half a million people live in Fallujah. It’s thought that as much as 60 percent of the population has left the city now though, in order to escape the potential fighting. The United Nations refugee agency has said that as many as 300,000 people have left Anbar province, where both Fallujah and Ramadi are, to escape the violence.


    That is why in Fallujah one will see many doors that have pages of the Koran attached to them – the residents have fled and they hope that the holy book will prevent thieves or militias from occupying their houses and stealing their belongings.

    The displaced have to go somewhere and the provinces they're going to are having to address these additional needs with no money from Nouri al-Maliki's central government out of Baghdad.  NINA notes that leaders of Kirkuk Province met today with UN officials at the UNAMI office to ask for "Help in building a camp for displaced people from Anbar's cities, Tuz" and Sulaiman Beck.

    All Iraq News notes independent MP Kamel al-Dulaimi declared at a press conference today, "The crisis in Anbar is political and it needs real stances from everyone in order to solve it, since the politicians in the province, in particular, disappeared from the scene and have forgotten the victims of the military forces and civilians during the clashes."  Sunday,  Nickolay Mladenov, the Special Representative in Iraq for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, declared, "Only by working together can Iraqis address the causes of violence and build a democratic society in which rule of law is observed and human rights are protected."

    Yet Nouri continues this assault.  It hasn't ended violence, it hasn't even reduced it.

    And yet the US government embarrasses itself daily by backing Nouri's genocide and pretending it's about 'terrorism.'


    Today's violence?   National Iraqi News Agency reports 1 police member was shot dead and a civilian left injured in western Baghdad (Abu Ghraib), a Muqdadiyah home bombing left 1 person dead, attorney Imad al-Najmawi was shot dead in Mosul, a Mosul roadside bombing left 2 Iraqi soldiers dead and a third, an armed battle in Ramadi near the stadium and 60th Street left 2 rebels dead and three Iraqi soldiers injured, Majo General Riadh al-Khikany states they killed 1 suspect to the north of Hilla, Baghdad Operations Command notes they killed 1 suspect in Baghdad, a Kirkuk car bombing left twenty people injured, the Ministry of Interior announced they killed 15 suspects in Anbar, Kirkuk attacks left 4 people dead and six more people injured, police member Almosul Aljadeedah was shot dead in Mosul, 1 corpse was discovered in Mosul,  and 1 corpse was found dumped in the streets of Baghdad ("handcuffed and with gunshot wounds in the head").  All Iraq News adds 1 doctor's assistant was shot dead in Anbar.


    Nouri's assault started at the end of December and was going to be a quick operation.


    Weeks later, it continues.

    And Iraq's supposed to hold elections next month.

    People have been expressing the need for the parliamentary elections, scheduled for April 30th, to take place.  Mohammad Sabah (Al Mada) reports Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani has declared the elections must take place and that they must take place across Iraq including in Anbar Province.  NINA adds that he called for all to vote but stated he would not be endorsing any candidate or slate.  All Iraq News reports:

    The head of the Supreme Iraqi Islamic Council, Ammar al-Hakim, warned from postponing the elections.In the conference of Handicapped persons in Baghdad, he said "All sides should participate in the elections widely."

    And there was already going to be a big adjustment in this election.  Instead of using the ration cards as identification -- as done in Iraq's previous elections -- new electronic cards are being issued -- are being issued slowly many complain on social media.  Samira Kamal (Kirkuk Now) reports:


    Electronic election cards are currently being introduced by the Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) to help provide a transparent and clean election process. “We are trying to prevent any candidate or political party from rigging future elections,” Safa Al-mosawy, the IHEC spokesman announced.
    Mr. Mosawy stated during an interview that the commission has issued very stringent instructions to help prevent any forgery or misuse of the electronic cards.
    If elections are held in April 30th, it's already been announced that everyone's not voting.  Iraq's voting rounds -- whether provincial or parliamentary -- include setting up voting stations in other countries -- chief among them the neighboring countries of Jordan, Lebanon and Syria, where so many Iraqis have fled to.  All Iraq News reports today:
     
    The Independent High Electoral Commission IHEC decided not to conduct the parliamentary elections for Iraqi community in Syria due to deterioration in security situation there.The Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt, Thea'a al-Din al-Dabas, reported in a press statement ''The IHEC held a meeting with several Iraqi Ambassadors in Turkey on last week in which they discussed the arrangements required to conduct the ballots avoiding any mistakes.''


    It's never just one thing with Nouri.  We've noted the crisis he's created with Anbar, the continuing security crisis, let's go to his war on the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government in the north of Iraq.  The Kurdish Globe reports on the continued tensions between Baghdad and Erbil:


     Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's dispute with Iraq's Kurds over its independent oil exports has escalated with the central government blocking Kurdistan's share of the state budget and banning two airlines from operating between Europe and Kurdistan.
    Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's dispute with Iraq's Kurds over its independent oil exports has escalated with the central government blocking Kurdistan's share of the state budget and banning two airlines from operating between Europe and Kurdistan.
    Kurdistan's president, Massoud Barzani, warned Maliki that his actions are "a declaration of war against the people of Kurdistan."


    But, of course, Nouri doesn't see it that way.  Rudaw notes:


     Iraq’s Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said in a television interview that a budget and oil dispute with the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in the north has been “exaggerated,” and that the central government felt a sense of responsibility toward the Kurds.
    “I don’t know why the problems have been so exaggerated,” Maliki said in an interview with the semi-official Al-Iraqiya TV. “We feel responsible for Kurdistan and its people, even if the Kurdish government doesn’t feel that way,” he added.


    Thousands of government workers in the KRG have been without payment because Nouri's blocked the KRG from receiving their part of the national budget.  It's so bad, in fact, that KRG officials have been calling for assistance from the United Nations to address this issue.  Hiwa Barznjy (Niqash) explains:

    Negotiators from the semi-autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan have visited Baghdad three times already this year. They went there to discuss many of the seemingly-intractable conflicts that the partially-independent region populated mainly by Iraqis of Kurdish ethnicity is having with the rest of the country, as governed from Baghdad.

    The list of these conflicts is similar to those of past years: The disputed areas of Iraq which the Iraqi Kurdish say should belong to their region but which Baghdad says belong to Iraq proper. The oil and gas law - Iraqi Kurdistan has one and Baghdad does not. Who pays for the services of the Iraqi Kurdish military, the Peshmerga. Iraqi Kurdistan’s share of national income, based on oil earnings.

    These issues have been sources of antipathy year on year – occasionally they send the relationship between Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan to teeter on the brink of a political abyss. And recently one of the most contentious issues – the oil and gas impasse – has been doing just that.

    “The Iraqi budget is IQD163 trillion,” the Iraqi Kurdish Deputy Finance Minister, Fazil Nabi, explained the country's draft budget for 2014 last week. “The share of Kurdistan Region from the budget is IQD19.7 trillion. Also, Kurdistan Region is entitled to IQD2.14 trillion dinars from the sovereign budget. In total, the share of Kurdistan Region from the budget is around IQD22 trillion dinars.”

    The draft budget also says that, in return, the Iraqi Kurdish must export around 400,000 barrels of oil per day and that the revenues from that must go to Baghdad, from where it will be distributed.


















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