Saturday, August 24, 2019

Hillary Explains

hillary explains


From September 17, 2016, that's "Hillary Explains."  C.I. noted:


Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Hillary Explains."  Wearing a button which reads "IN NEOCONS WE TRUST," Hillary Clinton explains last weekend's stumble, "I know most of you were shocked last weekend when I wobbled.  I get it.  No one had ever seen me lean that far left before."   Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.


I always liked that one.  And Hillary was packing on the pounds at that point. :D

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


Friday, August 23, 2019.  The US confirms that the Israeli government has bombed Iraq, Bernie Sanders presents a plan for workers, and much more.

The Israeli government has once again bombed Iraq.  Monday, they bombed Balad Air Base where the Iraqi militia (Popular Mobilization Forces -- Shi'ite forces linked to Iran) have stored weapons.  The Iraqi militias -- linked to Iran or not -- are part of the Iraqi government forces.  The previous prime minister, Hayder al-Abadi, oversaw that incorporation.   This was at least the fourth bombing the government of Israel has carried out on Iraq..


Israeli media first began reporting about this at the end of June.  Dropping back to the July 30th Iraq snapshot:



How is this not an act of war?


Israel has expanded its operations against Iranian targets to Iraq, where Air Force jets have struck twice in ten days, a report said Tuesday morning.
Israel commonly conducts strikes in Syrian territory, targeting Iranian missile shipments meant for Lebanese terror group Hezbollah to use against the Jewish state, but strikes in Iraq by Israel have not been reported since the 1981 bombing of a nuclear reactor.


That's from Michael Bachner's report for THE TIMES OF ISRAEL.

Repeating: How is this not an act of war? 

What if it was the US that was bombed?

Let's use Recep Tayyip Erdogan as an example because on his visit to the US he had his goons attack peaceful protesters -- and by the way, Barack Obama was president and refused to condemn that publicly.  But Recep decides peaceful protesters are terrorists so he decides to send Turkish war planes over Baltimore to bomb the city.

We would rightly see that as an act of war.

How is this any different?



It's not any different.  And now Lolita Baldor and Josef Federman (ASSOCIATED PRESS) report, "Israel was responsible for the bombing of an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq l[a]st month, U.S. officials have confirmed, an attack that would mark a significant escalation in Israel's years-long campaign against Iranian military entrenchment across the region."  AL JAZEERA adds:


Earlier this week, the deputy head of the Iraqi Shia militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, openly accused Israeli drones of carrying out the attacks, but ultimately blamed Washington and threatened strong retaliation for any future attack.
Such attacks are potentially destabilising for Iraq and its fragile government, which has struggled to remain neutral amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran.
Al Jazeera's Natasha Ghoneim, reporting from Baghdad during the latest round of air raids, said Iranian-backed armed groups have been operating in Iraq with the full support of the government since 2014, when they joined the fight against ISIL.

"A new law that came into effect on July 31 requires all paramilitary groups to report to the Iraqi security forces, or put down their weapons," Ghoneim reported.



Alissa J. Rubin and Ronnie Bergen (NEW YORK TIMES) explain:


The Israeli move also holds potential hazards for the United States, whose troops remain in Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State. Because the United States is a close Israeli ally, Iraqis are quick to blame it for allowing the Israelis to carry out attacks in Iraq.
A senior American official said that Israel was pushing the limits with the strikes in Iraq. Speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss delicate diplomatic matters, the official said the airstrikes could get the United States military removed from Iraq.


As the US has confirmed what was already out there, many are now issuing statements -- including former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki.



Senior US officials told that Israel has carried out “several strikes in recent days”,the most recent of which took place on Monday,north of Baghdad.
Former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki is warned of a"strong response" if it is proven that Israel was behind recent airstrikes.



Former Iraq PM warns of 'strong response' if Israel proven responsible for strikes: Nouri al-Maliki's comments come hours after U.S. officials confirm to NYT that Israel was responsible for bombing of Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month Haaretz




Nouri was prime minister from 2006 to 2010.  AP notes:


Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is warning of a “strong response” if it is proven that Israel was behind recent airstrikes in Iraq.


In statements issued by his office on Friday, he also said that if Israel continues to target Iraq, the country “will transform into a battle arena that drags in multiple countries, including Iran.”



Nuri al-Maliki: with the help of Iran, will strongly respond if Israel is behind attacks on Hashd al-Shaabi HQs.






These attacks that the Israeli government has carried out are acts of war.  The militias -- linked to Iran or not -- are part of the Iraqi forces.  Attacking them is attacking Iraq.  These are acts of war and the Israeli government should be called out for their actions.
You can be sure that Nouri and others will begin to call out the current prime minister for the attacks and his lack of response to them.  Adil Abdul-Mahdi is already facing criticism for his inability to improve the lives of the Iraqi people or to end corruption -- he promised to end corruption.  RUDAW reports:

 Iraqi parliament’s Sayirun alliance, headed by influential Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, has upped its criticism of Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi for what it says is his failure to live up to the promises of improved services to Iraqis that it made upon appointment.

Frequent powercuts and an unclean, infrequent water supply have been a source of perennial discontent among Iraqis nationwide. Abdul-Mahdi has signed a series of redevelopment projects with multinational companies to repair the country’s electricity grid and sanitation system that have been ailing for decades, but Sayirun members say efforts have been to little avail.

“After a year of Abdul-Mahdi being in office, now is the time to look again at the government manifesto and work on it diligently,” Abbas Ileiwi, member of the Sayirun alliance, which is the Sadr-dominated bloc in Iraqi parliament, told Rudaw on Sunday.

Abdul-Mahdi’s administration has come up short in meeting the needs of the Iraqi people “who lack the simplest of the essential services,” added Ileiwi.
We'll note this Tweet.

New on MoA:
U.S. Says Israel Bombed Iraq



Golly gee, we were covering this story on July 30th.  What was MOON OF ALABAMA doing?
Hmm.
Oh, that's right.  Showing up two days later to insist that "No, Israel Did Not Attack Iranian Targets in Iraq."
Well welcome to the party, MOON OF ALABAMA.  Foods all gone but the bar's still open so have a drink or two while you try to catch up to reality.  
In the US, the race for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues.  Barry Eidlin (JACOBIN) notes:

Bernie Sanders unveiled his Workplace Democracy Plan (WDP) yesterday. The plan is based in a deep and sophisticated understanding of the fundamental problems facing workers today; it is the most serious, comprehensive, and equitable plan for promoting workers’ rights ever proposed by a major US presidential candidate.
Just as he did with Medicare for All, Sanders’s WDP will now set the terms of the debate around workers’ rights in the Democratic presidential primary. Whether they support or oppose the WDP, all the other candidates will have to respond to it.
The plan is a comprehensive effort to reorient labor policy around the idea that these policies exist to actively promote workers’ rights, as opposed to setting up the state as an ostensibly “neutral” arbiter to balance labor and management’s competing interests. It recognizes and seeks to redress the inherent power imbalance between workers and their employers, an imbalance that derives from the simple fact that an individual worker’s need to stay employed is greater than an employer’s need to keep that worker employed.

That’s why the WDP removes barriers to workers’ ability to join together in unions by implementing a “majority sign-up” process, whereby workers unionize when a majority in a workplace says they want a union by signing authorization cards. It recognizes that the decision to unionize is one that workers should make among themselves — without outside interference from employers, as the current union recognition system allows for.
That’s also why it restricts employers’ ability to force workers to attend anti-union meetings, requires employers to disclose when they use anti-union consultants, and guarantees union organizers equal time in the workplace to talk with workers. Once workers have unionized, it also requires employers to negotiate a first contract or face binding arbitration. Additionally, it extends union rights to all public sector workers, and finally removes the arbitrary and racist exclusion of agricultural and domestic workers from labor law protections.
The WDP recognizes that workers’ rights can only be exercised and enforced collectively. Too often, employers and courts have used a warped interpretation of individual rights to undermine workers’ collective rights. Nowhere is this more apparent than with “right-to-work” laws, which use the pretext of protecting individual workers’ right not to join a union to erode union solidarity. They do so by allowing individuals in unionized workplaces to avoid paying the costs associated with negotiating and enforcing the contracts from which they benefit. The WDP would close that loophole by banning right-to-work laws.

The WDP also promotes workers’ ability to exercise their collective rights by enforcing and expanding the right to strike. Sanders recognizes that this is “a worker’s line of defense.” It’s “the means that you have to tell your employer, ‘Hey, we’re serious.’” To that end, it bans employers from using permanent replacements (“scabs”) when workers go on strike, expands the right to strike to public-sector workers, and allows for “secondary boycotts,” where workers pressure their employer by taking action against economically linked companies.

Lastly, billionaire conservative activist David Koch has died.  It's said that somewhere in hell he's trying to buy his way into heaven but is being stymied by heaven's refusal to be bought -- angels, unlike politicians, apparently cannot be bought.


The following sites updated:







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    Saturday, August 17, 2019

    The Clinton Piggy Bank

    clintonpiggybank

    From August 23, 2016, that's "The Clinton Piggy Bank."  C.I. noted:


    Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Clinton Piggy Bank."  Chelsea says, "Mommy, I need money to buy more disposable silk diapers with satin trim for Aidan."  Hillary replies, "Well use your Clinton Foundation ATM card.  That's why we started it -- so we could have our own personal piggy bank."  Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.



    Chelsea is the least accomplished presidential child in my lifetime.  But she's always quick to cash in on her name.

    There have long been rumors that Bill isn't Chelsea's father.  I usually don't believe it but ,if you look at her life, you have to wonder?  I mean her ability to cash and rake in?  She reminds me of one of George H.W. Bush's children.
    Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"


    Friday, August 16, 2019. The press continues its war on Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren announces a new plan, John Hickenlooper takes a hint, and much more.


    The ranks of those seeking the Democratic Party's presidential nomination thinned out a little.  As Ruth noted in "Go away John Hickenlooper," with no support and no ability to inspire, John Hickenlooper has dropped out of the race.  Sadly, as Ruth notes, he's considering running for the Senate.  If elected there, he would block any real progress for America.  He would shoot down everything as "socialism!"

    The only thing John brought was his war  on socialism.  He was the Paul Revere riding through the streets and shrieking, "The Socialists are coming!  The Socialists are coming!"

    Are they?  Most rationale people don't believe so but when John offered Americans a choice between him or Socialism, America still took a pass on him.


    . was a great mayor and governor, and helped shape the presidential race with his pragmatic viewpoint. He provided a valuable voice in this primary, bringing the ideas and solutions he successfully championed in Colorado to the national debate.







    America's taking a pass on Michael Bennet as well.  He hasn't taken the strong hint yet but althought he's not dropped out, voters have dropped him.

    How bad is it?

    REAL CLEAR POLITICS, in their poll coverage, provides a look at how the top 13 candidates for the nomination are polling:



    Polling Data

    PollDateBidenWarrenSandersHarrisButtigiegO'RourkeBookerYangKlobucharGabbardCastroWilliamsonSteyerSpread
    RCP Average8/1 - 8/1330.517.316.08.05.22.82.01.51.31.01.00.80.7Biden +13.2
    FOX News8/11 - 8/133120108323321111Biden +11
    Economist/YouGov8/10 - 8/132320168652212111Biden +3
    The Hill/HarrisX8/9 - 8/103110167441121221Biden +15
    Politico/Morning Consult8/5 - 8/113314209533211111Biden +13
    Quinnipiac8/1 - 8/53221147522111100Biden +11
    SurveyUSA8/1 - 8/53319209811010000Biden +13


    See how poorly Bennet's doing?

    No?

    That's because he's not even in the top 13.  The most recent poll is the FOX NEWS one and Michael Bennet didn't even get 1%.  He needs to drop out.

    Less people supported Bennet in that poll than did not know who Joe Biden was.  2% of those polled said they'd never heard of Joe Biden.  Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Bernie Sanders would win the presidency if the election were right now.  The poll asks specifically about each of those in a match up against Donald Trump.

    On the topic of Senator Elizabeth Warren,  Alex Thompson (POLITICO) reports she's released a new plan, this one addressing Native Americans:



    “The story of America’s mistreatment of American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Native Hawaiians is a long and painful one, rooted in centuries of discrimination, neglect, greed, and violence,” Warren wrote in a Medium post. “Washington owes Native communities a fighting chance to build stronger communities and a brighter future.”
    At over 9,000 words, the plan is more than double the length of any other proposal she’s introduced during her presidential campaign. That includes her ambitious plans to break up some of the biggest tech companies in the world, forgive over $600 billion in student loan debt, and revamp the federal government’s investment in rural America including a massive expansion of broadband.
    Warren also announced she was partnering with Rep. Deb Haaland (D-N.M.), who endorsed Warren last month, on a legislative proposal that would confront unmet needs in Indian Country. Haaland is one of the first two Native women elected to Congress last year. There will be a comment period to allow tribal leaders and citizens to help shape the final legislation. 




    Washington is failing Native communities, and it's time to fulfill our obligations to Tribal Nations. Today I’m announcing ideas to ensure that tribal sovereignty and our trust and treaty obligations are binding legal and moral principles—not just slogans.









    I’ve fought for a brighter future for Tribal Nations during my time in the Senate and I’m proud to work with on our new bill in Congress. And when we win the White House, I’ll be committed to achieving that future as President of the United States.





  • Right-wing courts have ruled that religious freedom laws allow corporations to deny employees birth control, but don’t protect tribes that object to dumping sewage water on sacred sites. Absurd. Congress should pass a new law protecting tribal religious interests in sacred sites.





  • When tribal concerns have conflicted with corporate profits or resource extraction, tribes lose. This has to change. When I’m president, energy projects that impact Indian Country won’t proceed without consent. That means revoking Trump’s KeystoneXL and DAPL permits.





  • In 2013, the Violence Against Women Act crucially recognized some criminal jurisdiction by Tribal Nations, and I support reauthorizing and building on it. But we need to go further and I support a full Oliphant fix.





  • Washington has refused to fully respect tribal sovereignty in criminal justice matters. This has deprived countless crime victims the opportunity to get justice. And it has fed the ongoing epidemic of missing and murdered indigenous women. This must change.





  • Funding critical programs for Indian Country isn't optional. It's required to fulfill the United States’ trust and treaty obligations. So and I have teamed up on writing a bill to ensure predictable, guaranteed funding to Tribal Nations and indigenous peoples.







    Bernie and Elizabeth are both engaged in a statistical tie with Joe Biden.  This is especially surprising in terms of Bernie because the media has declared war on him for some time now.




    The elite corporate media promoted the lies that led to the Iraq War & ignored the truth about Wall St fraud that led to the financial crisis.

    is not wrong to distrust an elite media culture that helped create those disasters that ruined so many people’s lives.








    THIS —> “If Sanders had suggested that Rupert Murdoch’s ownership of Fox News impacts its coverage, few would argue with him.  But Sanders referred to Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos’ ownership of the Washington Post — a corporate centrist outlet.”





    “I worked in & around mainstream TV news for yrs, including at corporate centrist outlets CNN & MSNBC...Bernie Sanders is one of the world’s most effective critics of Bezos (and) the Bezos-owned newspaper has exhibited an unrelenting bias against Sanders”







    On David Sirota, an e-mail to the public account said it was unethical of me to not note in a previous Iraq snapshot that David was a speech writer for Bernie.

    I've never heard such a stupid and uninformed thing in my life.  Keesha long ago dubbed this a private conversation in a public sphere.  The community does not need a disclosure.

    Many wish I wouldn't quote David.

    If any sort of disclosure needs to be done it would be something like this, "We called out David many years ago and he threatened to sue us.  He did not sue us because we had sourced our comments -- which were mainly about the member of Congress he used to work for (and the rude way that member treated Tina Richards, the mother of Iraq War veteran Cloy Richards)."

    Because of that, the community is not high on David.  When his wife Emily ran for Congress, we noted her from time to time here.  And I have no problem with her and I have no real problem with David.  He was mad, he let off steam.  As far as I am concerned, it's over.  I wish the community would join me in that but I don't control the community, I'm just a member like anyone else.

    If I feel the need to call him out, I will.  (And I have when needed since that exchange.)

    In some snapshots, we have identified him as being with Bernie's campaign, in some we haven't.  Though that might be an issue for you, the issue for the community is the one described above not his connection to Bernie's campaign.


    The press was at war with Bernie in 2016 and they remain at war with him now.  Think about how, before Joe Biden declared in April, the press refused to treat Bernie like the front runner -- even though he was.  They will not rush to get behind Bernie.

    That's for many reasons and I wish David would write or Tweet about that.

    Bernie has called for Medicare For All and the press -- supported by so much of the for-profit medical industry -- drug companies, insurance companies, etc -- is not going to slit their own throats.  When you watch the evening news on prime time or one of the 'news' programs on cable, count how many commercials airing are about drugs or about insurance.  They have been bought and see Bernie as a threat.

    Bernie was against the Iraq War.  Not only does anti-war threaten the press but it also goes to the fact that he was right and they were wrong.  They are so quick to pounce on everyone's errors -- even Joe Biden's -- but they've never taken accountable for how they helped lie us into war.  Bernie is a threat to them because he is proof that their collective claim of 'no one could have guessed' is a lie.  Anyone paying attention could have seen that the Iraq War was wrong and unneeded and that, if started, it would be a disaster.

    Bernie has supported local broadcasters -- a long history of that.  And to the consolidated media giants, that is a threat.

    He stands for higher wages and they see that as a threat.

    Everything Bernie is for, they are opposed to.

    And, yes, that has directly impacted the coverage he receives.



    We are not only taking on Donald Trump.

    We are not only taking on our primary opponents.

    We are taking on the health insurance and drug companies, the military and prison industrial complexes, the fossil fuel industry and more.

    But if we stick together, we are going to win.








    His is a message of We The People and that's what so threatens so many.  Bernie is a populist and the media has never liked populists -- not real populists.

    Bernie could win the nomination and it scares the hell out of the press that this is a possibility because if he wins, it's not just without their help, it's also in spite of their efforts to destroy him.

    The media has been attempting to destroy Bernie.

    For those who are late to the party or don't get it, let's talk Beto for a moment.

    Beto was a press darling.  Then he declared his intent to run for the presidency.  Shortly after, the press began tearing him down.  What changed?

    Beto was speaking out against the ongoing Iraq War.  THE WASHINGTON POST felt the need to 'fact check' him and did so by deliberately misunderstanding what he said.  But that was all it took for the press to declare war on the man they'd made a press darling only months before.  If they'd do that to Beto over just the war issue, imagine how frightened they are of Bernie who concerns them over war, yes, but also over healthcare, over media consolidation, over fair wages, over . . .

    Beto's trying to rebuild his campaign and he's seen some activity in the polls.





  • Anyone this president puts down, we are going to lift up. In those places where Donald Trump has been terrorizing, terrifying, and demeaning our fellow Americans, we are going to show up. RT if you are ready to join us in this fight.
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    I believe, together, we can bring about the change we need—and, in the process, restore our faith in humanity, in one another, and in this country. You can read more about our plan to end this epidemic here:





  • When any one community is targeted, the very idea of America is under attack. That’s why we need to all come together to not only connect the dots between the proliferation of hatred across our country and the acceleration of mass shootings, but actually do something about it.





  • To combat hatred, we will ensure the FBI and DOJ prioritize right wing violence; identify white nationalism as a threat in counterterrorism strategy; and require social media companies to remove hate speech and domestic terrorism from their platforms.







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