Saturday, June 18, 2022

Kat's Korner

Every comic I post at THE COMMON ILLS?  Kat's always kind enough to repost at her site.  Her "Kat's Korner: George Ezra and Rod Stewart prove the British are still invading" went up earlier today, it's a review of albums by George Ezra and Rod Stewart.

Kat's been doing music reviews at THE COMMON ILLS for a long time -- a month longer than I've been doing comics there.  So I thought I would note her music reviews.  Before I do, BLOGGER/BLOGSPOT changed the way you can do links about two or three years ago.  Prior to that, she'd list her most recent on top  After the change, she had to start putting them at the bottom.  Here are the reviews she's been doing since 2004:

  • Sam Smith Love Blows
  • Joni Mitchell archive release
  • Return Bruce Springsteen's LETTER TO YOU
  • Maria McKee and Bright Eyes
  • Taylor Swift, Brandy, Alanis and Steve Grand
  • Haim and women in music
  • Pretenders' HATE FOR SALE
  • Ellie Goulding and Lady Gaga
  • Diana Ross hits the dance floor
  • Bob Dylan ROUGH AND ROWDY WAYS
  • Hamilton Leithauser and Ronnie Spector
  • Ricky Martin PAUSA
  • Fiona Apple FETCH THE BOLTCUTTERS
  • Judy Garland's JUDY
  • 2010-2019 the decade in music
  • 2019 in muaix
  • Coldplay EVERDAY LIFE
  • Leslie Odom's MR.
  • Taylor Swift and Tanya Tucker
  • Drake's CARE PACKAGE
  • James Blake ASSUME FORM
  • Judy Garland ALONE
  • Mavis Staple WE GET BY
  • Dionne Warwick SHE'S BACK
  • Rhiannon Giddens THERE IS NO OTHER
  • Mavis Staples LIVE IN LONDON
  • Hozier WASTELAND, BABY
  • Chaka Khan HELLO HAPPINESS
  • 2018 in music
  • Rod Stewart BLOOD RED ROSES
  • Diana Ross WONDERFUL CHRISTMAS TIME
  • Barbra Streisand WALLS
  • Cat Power WANDERER
  • Cher does ABBA - DANCING QUEEN
  • Ann Wilson's IMMORTAL
  • John Mellencamp's SCARECROW
  • Cowboy Junkies ALL THAT RECKONING
  • Sting & Shaggy 44/876
  • Dashboard Confessional CROOKED SHADOW
  • Joan Baez WHISTLE DOWN THE WIND
  • 2017 in Music
  • Diana Ross' DIAMOND DIANA
  • Taylor Swift's REPUTATION
  • Sam Smith's THE THRILL OF IT ALL
  • Tori Amos' NATIVE INVADERS
  • Blondie POLLINATOR
  • Aimee Mann MENTAL ILLNESS
  • Luke Bryan KILL THE LIGHTS
  • Conor Oberst SALUTATIONS
  • 2016 in music
  • Diana Ross' diana and the RCA Years
  • John Legend
  • Bruno Mars 24K MAGIC
  • Alicia Keys' HERE
  • Pretenders' ALONE
  • Chris Brown's Mixed up Mix tape
  • Melissa Etheridge: The lesbian who preferred men
  • Barbra Streisand's lousy encore
  • Nick Jonas LAST YEAR WAS COMPLICATED
  • No one hates Drake more than Drake
  • Ben Harper's Call It What It Is
  • Graham Nash This Path Tonight
  • Diana Ross Sings Songs From The Wiz
  • 2015 in Music
  • Tracy Chapman's Greatest Hits
  • Adele 25
  • Carly Simon's Songs From The Trees
  • The Triumphant return of Janet Jackson
  • Judy Collins plays Where The Boys Are
  • Rickie Lee Jones The Other Side of Desire
  • Wilco's Star Wars
  • Steve Grand
  • Buffy Sainte-Marie's Power In The Blood
  • Carly Simon The Bedroom Tapes
  • Ringo Starr Postcards from Paradise
  • DNR order on Madonna's Rebel Heart
  • 2014 in music
  • Ronstadt and Streisand do duets
  • Neil Young Storytones
  • Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics
  • Stevie Nicks' 24 Karat Gold
  • Prince drops 2 albums
  • Lenny Kravitz' Strut
  • Carly Simon Original Album Series
  • Chrissie Hynde's Stockholm
  • Tori Amos Unrepentant Geraldines
  • Ben Harper and Ellen Harper Childhood Home
  • Livingston Taylor Blue Sky
  • Afghan Whigs Do The Beast
  • Cloud Nothings
  • Pretenders The Isle Of View
  • Ben Taylor's Listening
  • Bruce Springsteen High Hopes
  • Brad Paisley
  • 2013 in music
  • Beyonce's awful album
  • Jack Johnson From Here To Now To You
  • Cher's Closer To The Truth
  • Jackson and His Computerband
  • Sam Phillips
  • Ebony Bones Behold, A Pale Horse
  • Maps (James Chapman)
  • Hanni El Khatib
  • Shannon and the Clams
  • Natalie Maines' Mother
  • Holly Near, Go Away
  • Kate Nash's Girl Talk
  • Devendra Banhart
  • Taylor Swift Red
  • 2012 In Music
  • Rolling Stones GRRR!
  • Heart's Fanatic
  • Alanis Morissette
  • Animal Collective
  • Susanna Hoffs and Joss Stone
  • Carole King Demos, Maria McKee Live
  • What Regina Spektor Saw Playing It Cheap
  • Bonnie Raitt Slipstream
  • Wilson Phillips Dedicated
  • M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion
  • Carole King's Touch the Sky
  • Carole King's Welcome Home
  • Graffiti6 Colours
  • The Sensual Roberta Flack
  • Ani DiFranco Which Side Are You On?
  • Moves Like Jagger
  • 2011 in music
  • Doris Day and Rob Crow
  • Tori Amos Night of Hunters
  • Muppet 'tribute' album
  • Beastie Boys
  • Joss Stone
  • Amy Winehouse vs the Plastic World
  • Death Cab for Cutie's Codes and Silences
  • Ben Harper's Give Till It's Gone
  • Phil Spector's Wall of Sound
  • Stevie Nicks In Your Dreams
  • Emmylou Harris
  • Radiohead The King Of Limbs
  • PJ Harvey Let England Shake
  • 2010 in Music
  • Melanie's Ever Since You Never Heard Of Me
  • Cher's far from over
  • The 80s: Where Cher Proves Them All Wrong
  • Cher and the too far gone 70s
  • Neil Young's Le Noise
  • Heart
  • Cher's 60s recordings
  • Melanie's Crazy Love
  • Sarah McLachlan's Laws of Illusions
  • Tom Petty & Heartbreakers forgot to write some songs
  • Kate Nash
  • Jakob Dylan
  • Natalie Merchant
  • Torch singer Sade
  • Joanna Newsom's triumph
  • The decade in music
  • 2009 in Music
  • Joni Mitchell live on Greenpeace CD
  • Carly Simon Never Been Gone
  • Barbra is the answer
  • Holly Near & emma's revolution
  • Under The Covers Vol. 2
  • Cass Elliot's classic album
  • John Fogerty's White Flight
  • Elvis Costello Goes Country
  • Regina Spektor Far
  • Ben Harper White Lies For Dark Times
  • Tori Amos Abnormally Attracted to Sin
  • David Saw Broken Down Figure
  • Prince LOtUSFLOW3R
  • Stevie Nicks The Soundstage Sessions
  • Joshua Radin Simple Beauty
  • U2 No Line On The Horizon
  • Charity albums
  • india.arie
  • Schuyler Fisk
  • Tracy Chapman Our Bright Future
  • Bruce Springsteen Working On a Dream
  • Best of Janis Ian
  • Phoebe Snow Live
  • 2008 in Music
  • Labelle Back To Now
  • Pretends Break Up The Concrete
  • Aimee Mann @#%&*! Smilers
  • Augustana Can't Love, Can't Hurt
  • Cold Play Vida la Vida
  • The Very Best of Linda Ronstadt
  • Carly Simon This Kind Of Love
  • Jack Johnson Sleep Through The Static
  • Lenny Kravitz It Is Time For A Love Revolution
  • 2007 in Music
  • Smashing Pumpkins Zeitgeist
  • Ann Wilson Hope & Glory
  • Prince Planet Earth
  • Joni Mitchell Shine
  • Stephen Stills and Ani DiFranco
  • Ben Harper Lifeline
  • Judy Collins Sings Lennon & McCartney
  • Cowboy Junkies at the end of paths taken
  • Mavis Staples We'll Never Turn Back
  • Rickie Lee Jones and Norah Jones
  • Albert Hammond Jr. Yours To Keep
  • Tori Amos American Doll
  • Patti Smith Twelve
  • Bright Eyes Cassadaga
  • Holly Near Shows Up
  • Diana Ross I Love You
  • Lizzie West I Pledge Allegiance to Myself
  • Carly Simon Into White
  • 2006 in Music
  • David Rovic Halliburton Boardroom Massacre
  • Ani DiFranco Reprieve
  • Justin Timberlake Future Sex/Love Sounds
  • Michael Franti & Spearhead Yell Fire!
  • Free Design Kites Are Fun
  • Janis Ian Folk Is The New Black
  • Neil Young Living With War
  • Pink I'm Not Dead
  • Josh Ritter The Animal Years
  • Pearl Jam
  • Dixie Chicks Taking The Long Way
  • Bruce Springsteen Seeger Sessions
  • Richie Havens Collection
  • Ben Harper Both Sides of The Gun
  • Etta James All The Way
  • Nina Simone The Solid Gold Collection
  • Cat Power The Greatest
  • 2005 in Music
  • Carly Simon No Secrets
  • James Blunt Back to Bedlam
  • Bright Eyes Motion Sickness
  • Stevie Wonder A Time To Dance
  • Rolling Stones A Bigger Bang
  • Joan Baez Bowery Songs
  • The Complete Cass Elliot Solo Collection
  • Aimee Mann The Forgotten Arm
  • Carole King The Living Room
  • Carly Simon Moonlight Serenade
  • Coldplay X & Y
  • White Stripes Get Behind Me, Satan
  • Judy Collins Portrait of an American Girl
  • Carole King Tapestry
  • Tori Amos The Beekeeper
  • Nirvana With The Lights Out
  • Why Does Music Suck So Bad Pt. I
  • Why Does Music Suck So Bad Pt. II
  • Wilco A Ghost Is Born
  • Maria McKee Live in Hamburg
  • Almost 41 years later
  • Green Day v. Disney Kids
  • 2020 in music
  • Judy Garland's MISS SHOW BUSINESS
  • Hail The Conquerer Nick Jonas
  • Liz Phair's SOBERISH
  • Chase Rice's THE ALBUM
  • Billy Davis Jr. and Marilyn McCoo
  • Laura Nyro's TREES OF THE AGES
  • Laura Nyro's GO FIND THE MOON
  • Diana Ross' THANK YOU
  • Adele's 30
  • Joni Mitchell LI VE AT CARNEGIE HALL 1969
  • 2021 in music
  • Joss Stone & Judy Collins crash and burn
  • Dolly Parton's RUN, ROSE, RUN
  • Jewel's FREEWHEELIN' WOMAN
  • Harry Style's HARRY'S HOUSE
  • Judy Garland's JUDY IN LOVE
  • George Ezra and Rod Stewart's new albums



  • That's a pretty diverse list: Diana Ross, Greenday, Rolling Stones, Harry Styles, Lenny Kravitz, Prince, Joni Mitchell, Carly Simon, Bob Dylan, Judy Garland, Nina Simone, Aretha Franklin, Kate Nash, Tracy Chapman, Joan Baez, Judy Collins, Joss Stone, Roberta Flack, Tori Amos, Janis Ian, Stevie Nicks, Pretenders, Afghan Whigs, Bruce Springsteen, Bright Eyes, Brandy, Fiona Apple, Ricky Martin, Dolly Parton, Tanya Tucker, Coldplay, Drake, Mavis Staples, Dionne Warwick, Cher, Heart, Sting and Shaggy, Cat Power, Bruno Mars, John Mellencamp, Alicia Keys, Chris Brown, Luke Bryan, Barbra Streisand, Nick Jonas, Ben Harper, Adele, Janet Jackson, Rickie Lee Jones, Ringo Star, Wilco, Madonna, Neil Young,  Brad Paisley, Beyonce, Ebony Bones, Animal Collective, Bonnie Raitt, Ani DiFranco, Doris Day, Amy Winehouse, Radiohead, Stevie Nicks, PJ Harvey, Death Cab For Cutie, Melanie, Tom Petty, Sade, Mavis Staple, Sade, Cass Elliot, Elvis Costello, U2, Phoebe Snow, Labelle, Jack Johnson, Smashing Pumpkins, Cowboy Junkies, Patti Smith, Pink, Justin Timberlake, Etta James, Stevie Wonder, White Stripes, Nirvana, Liz Phair, Chase Rice, Marilyn McCoo and Billy Davis Jr., Laura Nyro, Jewel. Richie Havens, Natalie Merchant, Josh Ritter . . . 

    That's a pretty diverse list.

    Ruth was doing a radio report for THE COMMON ILLS, Kat was covering music and CI. was covering politics.  I wanted to offer something and that's why I started drawing comics for the site.

    I always enjoy Kat's reviews and she often steers me to albums I'd otherwise miss.

    On that, she's noting Rod Stewart's new album is on sale at AMAZON -- the vinyl version is on sale:

    The Tears Of Hercules
    FREE Delivery Wed, Jun 22


    That sale is also noted in these posts from today:


    Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):


    Friday, June 17, 2022.  Is Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi stuck in an eternal senior moment, Iraq remains without a government when it really needs one and look what political figure emerges to speak out against Turkey's continued attacks on Iraq?


    ADDED: Charley Adams (BBC NEWS) reports, "Wikileaks founder Julian Assange’s extradition to the US has been approved by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. Mr Assange has 14 days to appeal over the decision, the Home Office said."


    Maybe it should have been: Nancy, are you okay?  Are you okay, Nancy?



    Talk about a smooth criminal.  The Speaker of the House is attempting to pin inflation on COVID 19 and the Iraq War.


    Maybe Nancy's trying to live out a Bee Gees' song?  "I started a joke, which started the whole world crying . . ."


    La megera Dem Nancy Pelosi, affiliata ai Satanisti, ha trovato il motivo dell'inflazione record in USA: Non delle “sanzioni”. La colpa è del Covid e della guerra in Iraq. Perché non metterci anche quella del Vietnam?🤔😂
    Image
    🇺🇸Dinosaurs of analytics. In the US, they finally found the reason for record inflation. Covid and the war in Iraq are to blame, says 82-year-old Speaker of the US House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi.


    🗣 - 🇺🇸 #USA La presidenta de la Cámara de Representantes, Nancy Pelosi, explicó los problemas de #EEUU con la "guerra en #Irak". 🤯 “Tenemos una #guerra en Irak, tenemos #COVID”, dijo Pelosi. 😁🥰 #Ukraine #Russia #Iraq #Biden


    At a certain age, people should retire.  Nancy passed her expiration date.  


    THE ECONO TIMES notes, "This week, Shia leader and leader of the Sadrist Movement in the Iraqi parliament, Muqtada al-Sadr, announced that he would be stepping down from the political process. Al-Sadr cited that he does not intend on getting involved with politicians deemed 'corrupt'."

    Oh, Moqtada's such a sweet little boy, far too pure for politics.  Murder?  Murder he's down with.  Politics are too dirty for Moqtada.  (Maybe he knows Nancy Pelosi?)  ANHA offers:


    After 8 months of political wrangling and failures to form a new government and choose a president for the country, Iraq today stands at a foggy crossroads with the resignation of the Sadrist bloc’s deputies from parliament, in a move that raised several questions about the immediate political future of Iraq and the expected changes in alliances between parties and blocs.

    Last Sunday, the representatives of the Sadrist movement submitted their resignation to the Speaker of Parliament after they received an order from the leader of the movement, Muqtada al-Sadr.

    As soon as the resignation took place, speculations and expectations about future scenarios for Iraq surfaced, after many outstanding crises without solutions, exacerbated by the political stalemate as a result of the sectarian quota system and failure of the Iraqi parliament three times in choosing a president and forming a government.

    On this, the Iraqi researcher and political historian, Dr. Jawad Al-Baydani, spoke about the repercussions of this step, saying: "I believe that the political blockage will end with this resignation. It seems that there are hidden threads which occurred previously, with evidence that Parliament Speaker Muhammad al-Halbousi signed the resignation as soon as it came to him, Perhaps there were negotiations taking place behind the scenes between the political blocs in light of the alliances made by the Sadrist movement with the al-Halbousi bloc, as well as the Kurdistan Democratic Party.

    This context he said, "In light of the Iraqi elections law, any member of the Iraqi parliament when he submits his resignation, the member close to the votes is the one who ascends or replaces him, and this is what will happen. Most of these will be from the coordinating framework as well as the independents, and thus will facilitate formation of the government.


    The inability to form a government eight months after the October 10th elections?  That's major unless we're in the US.  The US has no interest in Iraq -- unless it can start an illegal war or, as Nancy demonstrates, use it as an excuse for inflation under President Joe Biden.  Scapegoating?  Iraq will rush to the tongue of Nancy for that.


    Amr Salem (IRAQI NEWS) explains:

    The Iraqi Ministry of Environment, on Thursday, called for developing a national strategy supported by an annual budget to combat climate change and desertification in the country, according to the Iraqi News Agency (INA).

    “The climate change and its negative impacts on Iraq are clearly visible,” The Iraqi Minister of Environment, Jasesim Al-Falahi, said in a statement cited by INA.

    Falahi explained that United Nations reports confirm that Iraq is one of the five countries in the world most affected by climate change, according to INA.

    The Minister of Environment also elaborated that the country is facing an unprecedented scarcity of rainfall and water leading to an increase in desertification rates and decrease in available fertile land.


    But he's not really the Minister of Environment.  He's a hold over from the previous government and the highest court in Iraq has already ruled that the holdover  government is highly limited in what they can and cannot do.  Which is a shame because Iraq is facing serious consequences from climate change.  THE JERUSALEM POST observes:

    Environmental experts have warned that the drying up of Lake Sawa in southern Iraq is a sign of more to come, with climate change and a lack of cooperation defining water distribution in the Middle East.

    In April, the lake, which changes level seasonally and is the only one in Iraq to draw its water from underground aquifers, dried up completely for the first time in thousands of years.

    For the inhabitants of nearby Samawa, the environmental concerns were trumped by the existential threat of losing access to the lake, which provides the only reachable water source in the region. Droughts resulting from climate change are thought to be partially responsible for the drying up of the lake.


    Iraq could really use some leadership right now -- especially as the water issue is resulting in conflicts with neighbors.  One of those neighbors?  Turkey.  


    And there's a lot for Iraq to have conflict with Turkey over.


    The Turkish government has been bombing northern Iraq with War Planes and drones, it's sent Turkish foot soldiers into the country and established military bases in Iraq.  These are legally defined acts of war.  These are violations of Iraq's sovereignty.  


    And yet they continue.  Will any politician outside the Middle East call them out?  Or will Jeremy Corbyn be the only one to do so?


    In yesterday's snapshot, we noted that the Turkish government had killed yet another child.  Mirza Dinnayi names the child:

    A dirty war crime and a planned elimination of Yezidi minority. An air strike killed a 12 y Yezidi child in Sinjar. Salah was working in a small shop of his father in Sinuni. Such a shame for the international community generally and iraqi political powers to keep silent
    Image


    Amberin Zaman (AL-MONITOR) reports:

    The government of Iraq has yet to comment on a Turkish drone strike that killed a 12-year-old boy in the town of Sinune yesterday, the latest in a string of attacks in the Sinjar region of northern Iraq, adding to fury among Yazidis, a marginalized community that was subjected to genocide by the Islamic State.

    Nobel laureate Nadia Murad, a Yazidi genocide survivor who was enslaved by IS, called Turkey’s attack “an act of terrorism.”

    “Iraq has the ultimate responsibility to stop Turkey from attacking Sinjar,” said Murad Ismael, a prominent Yazidi activist. “The international community also has a moral responsibility towards Yazidis and the people of Sinjar. It is both painful and illogical that these attacks go [unaddressed] as if they are legitimate. It seems Turkey can get away with anything,” Ismael told Al-Monitor.

    The UN condemned the attack without mentioning Turkey by name. “UNICEF is shocked at the killing of a 12-year-boy in an attack in Sinjar area,” the international body’s arm that deals with children said in a statement yesterday. “UNICEF calls on all parties to fulfill their obligation, under international law, to protect children at all times and without delay,” it added.


     Would a functioning government make any difference?

    Who knows?

    But there is rightful outrage.

    The Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) called on NATO and the international community to speak out against Turkey's drone strike in Northern Iraq's Sinjar region that killed a father and a small child on Wednesday. medyanews.net/nato-and-the-i
    Today Turkey murdered Salah Nassir, a Yazidi child and a shopkeeper in town of Sinuni while he was attending his shop. Salah was murdered as Turkey conducted an airstrike inside a populated civilian area. We condemn this act of terrorism & call on Iraq & intl community to act.
    Image


    Violation of Iraq’s sovereignty by any state is rejected and the continuous Turkish incursions in the Kurdistan Region will harm relations between Baghdad and Ankara, influential Iraqi politician and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki said on Thursday.

    “The violation of Iraq’s sovereignty from any state is rejected and the government needs to take necessary measures to stop it,” Maliki who is a prominent figure of the Coordination Framework, Iraq’s largest Iran-backed alliance, said in a statement.

    “The continuation of Turkish incursions on Iraqi land in the Kurdistan Region and the death and injury of a number of people will result in major harm to the relations between Iraq and Turkey,” he said, adding that such continuous attacks would require Iraq to review its stance and work on stopping them.



    Former prime minister and forever thug Nouri.  He never stops running for office.  And his words are going to resonate with a public that's tired of seeing their government roll over and ignore these constant attacks from Turkey.



    The following sites updated:




    Read on ...

    Sunday, June 12, 2022

    Rest Assured, Judge Tootie Is here

    judge tootie

     

    From May 25, 20202, that's "Rest Assured, Judge Tootie Is Here."  C.I. noted:

     

    Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Rest Assured, Judge Tootie Is Here."  In the wake of the news that Judge Judith Sheindlin is ending her long running TV show JUDGE JUDY, Kim Fields shows up in her old FACTS OF LIFE attire to announced, "Don't worry guys.  Judge Judy signing off just means there's now room for Judge Tootie!"  Judge Judy delivers Tootie's signature line, "We are in trouble." Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS

    Who didn't love Kim Fields as Tootie on FACTS OF LIFE?  Or as Regine on LIVING SINGLE.  They should have done Judge Tootie for real when Judy bolted over to AMAZON and JUSTICE JUDY.


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

     

     Friday, June 10, 2022.  The fake assery of what they are trying to tell us is independent media as they continue to act as Jimmy Dore's fan club and try to do yet another pile on of women.


    I don't know what woman hurt Kit with HARD LENS MEDIA but he needs to get over it.  If that's not too triggering for him, of course.  He has championed -- and he's not the only one -- the hideous David Weigel.  The fact that he's now noting David is hideous, isn't good enough.  Nor is his limited knowledge base that doesn't go beyond 2015.  Grow up, get a f**king education.  I'm sick of your stupidity and you should be ashamed of it


    He says David's reTweeted joke was just dumb and nothing offensive.  To which I say let's use parallel therapy on David's 'joke,' , "Most Black men are bi -- bisexual or bipolar."  Is that funny from a White man?  Is that just dumb?  I think it's racist.  But it's not sexist or offensive when it's about women?


    Kit's too stupid and uninformed to grasp that THE WASHINGTON POST has a long, long history of sexism in its institution and he's too stupid to know that 'jokes' are how WP 'reporters' keep getting in trouble.  It's not all hushed up.  It comes out from time to time.  Was it Mad Dog Bitch Beer?  Is that what Dana Milbank served up in 2008?  The paper should have fired him for it (for those who weren't paying attention or just plain stupid, that was among the sexist attacks launched at Hillary Clinton in 2008).  The paper didn't fire him for it because they taped it and they posted it and they thought it was funny.


    It took the publisher to inform them -- rightly -- that no one was expecting Jon Stewar at THE WASSHINGTON POST and that the next time the paper confused itself with THE DAILY SHOW, they could pack their stuff and move on over to COMEDY CENTRAL,  This year is only half over and 'jokes' about women have been circulating non-stop through the newsroom and offending many men and women who work for the newspaper.  I'm sorry Kit's too stupid -- and, yes, out of touch, face pressed against the glass watching his betters live a more exciting life -- to know the climate at THE POST.


    All he does know is that he hates Felicia Sonmez.  


    He wants to connect her to Amber Heard.  I have no idea why.  And I really don't care.  Just like I don't care who wrote the VANITY FAIR article.  Actually, it's not that I don't care on that, it's that I know the problems VANITY FAIR's having and I don't want to know which piece of trash wrote it because that would be a whole other snapshot.


    But Kit wants you to know that WP staffers are onto Felecia and, to prove it, let's quote this great article from VANITY FAIR.


    Pause.  Have they had a great article since they lost Tina Brown?  Nope.  They haven't.  It's been one long drive down the hill for them since that.  They used to have one great article or column an issue.  Graydon Carter was a bigger joke than his hair style and we all loved to laugh, in the industry, as they'd put any gay actor on the cover and insist he was catnip to women and the next big thing and then he wouldn't live up to that promise -- but, hey, he slept with the male director that Grayden liked to party with so Graydon was always happy to put that flavor of the month -- that no one really knew -- on the cover and insist that they were a star.  They never really were.  I was reminded of that again as one of them to decided to do a social statement this week.  I just shook my head sadly and thought, "Is he ever going to come out of the closet?"


    Because that actually would be a brave thing for him to do.  Right now.  Pretty soon, there will be no impact all all -- like when Richard Chamberlain finally came out and the world said: Richard who? 


    Radhika Jones is a joke and has no idea how to present VANITY FAIR.  First thing you do, get out of your NYC bubble.  There are already enough magazines trying to represent New York (THE NEW YORKER, NEW YORK MAGAZINE, etc).  Tina Brown didn't revive the corpse of VANITY FAIR by making it a clone of every other NYC magazine.  (And that's what the pissy response to her at THE NEW YORKER was about -- her attempting to expand the magazine beyond that limited focal point.)


    But if, like Kit, you're too stupid to realize VF made a huge mistake by printing what they did, let's walk you through slowly.


    This idea that she's fighting for sexism or gender, while that might have been true at some point, now just feels disingenuous, even for people who want to give her the benefit of the doubt.


    Kit's a f**king idiot who needs to stop clapping his hands together and stop crowing with delight.


    I know who VF spoke with.  I know it because they made the mistake they make when always speaking.  They're known for their Freudian slips and, goodness, didn't they have one.  It flew by VF and despite reading it out loud to the camera, it flew by Kit as well.


    Felicia might be fighting for gender but, no, she's not fighting for sexism.  The unnamed WP-er put his own preference in their, just slipped out of his mouth.  Again, I know who it is because he has a long, long history of doing that.


    Kit knows nothing and he sure enjoys demonstrating that.


    Kit declares, "I'm smelling BS here."

    Well, sweetie, get your head out your ass.


    You'll find the smell will lessen and a good shower will wash it right off you.


    We did the roundtable from hell for the gina & krista round-robin.  It went on past 1:00 EST.  Most people went to sleep after -- not Gina and Krista who are assembling the round-robin and not Ava and I who had to write our piece for this week's edition.  I then thought I'd go to sleep.  But then I saw e-mails about Kit's video.  Looking at the title, I thought, "Oh, he's going to take on THE WASHINGTON POST."


    No, he wants to attack Felicia.  And he wants you to know that Jimmy Dore has too.


    You know what Jimmy did to Ana of THE YOUNG TURKS wasn't harassment.  And we said that in real time, we said it here and we said it at THIRD.  But Jimmy is a sexist.


    Bob Somerby is as well.


    And the reason they're sexists is because they love to attack women.  Nothing gets them more excited than ripping apart a woman.


    Sadly, it's true of Kit too.  Watch him smack his hands together in glee.


    Amber Heard lied.  I said that here.  I said that long ago.  Before the marriage fell apart, I stated it was a mid-life crisis on Johnny's part that he would live to regret because she would try to destroy him.  I told him the marriage was a mistake to his face.  When she started her garbage, I noted online that she abused him not the other way around and I pointed out that there were recordings that would back that up. 


    I don't know what Kit feels is  Felicia's connection to Amber Heard but --


    Okay, let me say this very clearly, F**k you, Kit.  You and HARD LENS MEDIA need to get your crap together.


    This snapshot is not dictated.  I paused after "--" to get on the phone and thank you to three friends at WP who took my early morning calls and walked me through.


    And the F you to Kit is because I had surgery on both eyes on Wednesday.  I was just supposed to have surgery on the right eye.  But the retina detached again on the left eye.  My doctor I was supposed to see performed the surgery on the right eye.  And then, as I was coming to (which was as the surgery was ending -- it never knocks me out hard enough to make it through the entire surgery), I was asking him questions and when he finished he noticed the left eye and asked about pain.  I'm always in pain these days.  I'm on eight different prescribed eye drops.  I have pressure issues in both eyes.  I just push on through the pain.  But he said the retina looked detached and he called my retina doctor who ended up doing a second surgery that day because it was.


    Every now and then, I try to pause to grab the magnifying glass that I'm using right now.  


    This is not fun for me.  This is not something that I want to do.  But Kit has to be a dumb ass and so I'm stuck doing it.


    I watched thinking the video would be of import and about something that mattered.


    It wasn't.  It was about trashing a woman.


    Why was David suspended for a month?


    The joke was judged offensive and, as I noted earlier, THE POST is under orders, their reporters especially, to grasp that they are not comedians.  They are not be 'edgy.'  If they repost a joke it better not be anything more than a mild knock-knock.


    David's reposting of that joke offended the staff.  


    And there are four previous Twitter issues that THE POST has discussed with him this year.  Four.  He got past strike three.


    That's why he was suspended.  He had repeatedly been cautioned about this and he also has another HR issue that I'm going to leave alone but that those defending him should be very wary how far out on the limb that they want to crawl.


    David has serious problems with his co-workers.  With regard to his reTweeting that joke, it was his fifth social media incident this year -- and we're only at the half year mark.  He was warned four times already.  When he pulled this one, the staff was appalled by the joke and management had enough.  That's why he was suspended.


    It's going to be difficult at THE POST for the man who spoke to VAN FAIR because I did bring that up and they agreed, due to his slip-up, that it was him.  So it'll be an interesting day for him in a few hours.  


    Felicia's not a saint.  The three I spoke with didn't think she was.  She has come to Amber Heard's defense, by the way.  I asked about that and they walked me through that.


    Felicia's an idiot when it comes to what happened with Johnny Depp.  She's far from the only idiot.  Michelle Goldberg is who Ava and I chose to focus on in "Media: Justice for everybody.''  These women are confusing feminism with matriarchy.


    They're also trying to pimp Amber as a feminist (though that failed and Amber's pr team is now trying to pimp Amber as a bisexual being discriminated against because of her sexual orientation -- see Marcia's "Amber Heard does not speak for this L").  Amber's done nothing in her life or work to qualify as a feminist.  The term is not elastic.  


    She wants to help herself.  That doesn't make her a feminist.


    And Michelle Goldberg, I'm not forgetting your attacks on Tara Reade.  Tara told the truth.  Tara has more supporting incidents than anyone victim that's ever come forward.  That includes -- but is not limited to -- her divorce papers and her mother's call to Larry King.  Amber lied repeatedly.  Her  make up artist testified to the fact that she didn't have any black eye when she was made up for the talk show and that Johnny couldn't have beaten her on a day she claims because he wasn't in the country.  Her former assistant testifies to what a liar she is (and we have two disputing her claims re: the dog in Australia).  She lied when she said she was giving the 7 million to charity.  Amber's spent most of that.  She's got a little less than two million left -- and that's before the current fees from her trial.  Supposedly, she's about to shut up because her p.r. team is demanding some form of payment.


    When she got the 7 million, she might have planned to give it to charity (I don't think she ever planned to) but a friend of Amber's insists (to me) that she dipped in "just a little."  She was convinced she'd be making so much money as an actress that she could refill it.  Then she dipped again.  And again.  And . . .   Now she's got a little less than two million.


    What a stupid fool.  Now I've been there.  And I'll never be there again.  Back in the day, believing a lot of whores, I gave my money away.  There was a little from my career and there was a lot that was family money.  I'm not the only person who did that but I will own it -- unlike a friend of mine -- and I will own that I was stupid to do so.  I ended up with nothing and had to rebuild and was lucky to be able to do so.  But I honestly believed that we were building a strong media that would cover reality and that would defend the people.


    Nope.  Nope. 


    Amy Goodman's the best example of today's grifter but before Amy there were many others.  Amy is making millions from PACIFICA RADIO thanks to her friendship with members of the board.  She was given a contract she did not deserve for a program she is not the sole creator of.  Anyone ever going to point out that if she's worth the millions she's getting -- if the program is -- that Amy needs to stop ripping off, for example, an African-American man?  More to the point, PACIFICA RADIO never had and never should have a million a year to give any one person.  It's public radio.  All that money and they don't even own DEMOCRACY NOW! -- she keeps ownership of the programs.  


    I don't give to PACIFICA currently.  I got damn tired of giving to KPFA and seeing our money go out to save WBAI and the others who don't know how to fund raise or, honestly, how to program.  


    If PACIFICA had a functioning board, they would cancel the contract with Amy Goodman immediately.  She has stolen enough dollars and I'm not giving money that's going to cover her  fake ass.


    But I did give before she started broadcasting, to many outlets, and I watched the Watergate glory be replaced with the timidity.  I watched the sell outs.  I watched a wonderful and brave Latina being trashed by these outlets because she dared to hold Jimmy Carter accountable.  They had redefined their purpose.  They weren't about the people, they were about defending powerful Democrats who held elected office.


    That's what I wasted my money on: helping to create and continue fake media that betrayed the people.


    And that's why I don't give today.  


    I did give to PACIFICA and when I did they were not fake media.  After they became it, I only gave to KPFA -- my local PACIFICA station.  Since our money we give to KPFA is forever being funneled elsewhere to pay Amy and to save garbage, I don't give anymore.


    And, yes, WBAI was garbage.  Unlike Jeff Cohen and his lies, we told the truth about WBAI.  It was The Winter Soldier hearing.  The Iraq War veterans were telling their stories.  A number of us donated big to PACIFICA ahead of that.  I worked overtime reaching out to friends in the media to get coverage for these hearings.  And KFPA covered it.  PACIFICA on their national stream covered it.  WBAI?  Saturday they were more interested in playing their canned programming.  Bad music shows and Grandpa Munster.  Winter Soldier held hearings March 13th through 15th of 2008.  Al Lewis, Grandpa Munster, died February 3, 2006.  But it was more important to WBAI that crap like Grandpa Munster be played.  It was old and had been played years before.  But instead of carrying the live feed of Winter Soldier, they reaired old programs -- bad music programs and Grand Pa Munster -- dead for two years but more important to WBAI then what Iraq War veterans wanted to share about the Iraq War.  That's why I say WBAI is garbage and that's why I call out the ridiculous Jeff Cohen because he wrote that hideous column praising people and stations that did not do the actual work -- KPFA did.  WBAI -- and other PACIFICA stations -- did not.

    I'm not giving now.  They can screw themselves -- they're certainly going to screw over their supporters. 


    And, as someone who made the costly mistake of giving everything to these con artists in the past, I do now look for warning signs.


    Jimmy Dore is a warning sign.  Not by himself.  He may well stick to his guns and not sell out.


    But this need of the others who are around him to promote him non-stop.  I don't think Kit could show more support for Jimmy Dore than he does now even if he dropped to his knees in front of The Bean and blew Jimmy Dore as everyone looked on.


    When you're hearing stuff like "Jimmy Dore" over and over from other so-called independent programs, you're seeing that they aren't independent. When I made that point earlier this week, someone e-mailed the public account insisting that I don't object when it's Glenn Greenwald.


    If Jimmy hadn't brought on the child molester -- the convicted child molester -- I wouldn't have stopped including his videos here.  But he did.  


    And when I noted Rachel Maddow and the disgusting fawning over the Iraq War vet who beat his wife, three e-mail came in insisting that she didn't know.  And two others wanted to cite PTSD.  I had to wonder on the two, was one of them Rachel's daddy.  Rachel's father was her sock puppet on the message boards for the radio program UNFILTERED.  He would lie for her constantly. When Rachel had the man on the first time, it was posted to the board about him beating his wife -- who, by the way, he was speaking of on the program -- and Rachel's dad -- posing as the woman he always posed as -- rushed in to insist that it was just once and PTSD caused it because he'd just returned from Iraq.


    No.


    He beat her before he ever left the US.  He beat her and he was arrested for it.  That may be why he enlisted.  He beat her, got arrested.  Went off to Iraq.  Came back.  Got inside her home and, when he returned, he beat her again.  Got arrested again.  While out, Rachel tried to make him a star.  And she knew while the show was airing.  And her father was there trying to lie that it was because of PTSD.


    And while it was airing, Rachel invited him back for Friday's show.


    That's why I don't care for Rachel.  You'd think a lesbian would be the last person to glorify a man who beats up women.  You'd think that.  But then I never would have thought a lesbian would do to a former lover what Melissa Etheridge did to Tammy Lynn Michaels.  Deadbeat dads and pigs?  They can also be women.


    Melissa proved it and she's not the only woman who has.


    A matriarchy defends Melissa.  Feminism doesn't defend her.


    So we move back to Felicia and feminism.  


    She's being misrepresented.  by VANITY FAIR and by idiots like Kip who repeat VF.  The e-mail the rag criticizes?

    She is not ridiculing people who need help or discouraging them from getting it.


    That's THE WASHINGTON POST's talking point to discredit her.  


    When they sent out their e-mail about if you need help . . ., she replied sharing what happened to her in 2018.  She is questioning the sincerity of their claims.


    These are not Felicia-stans, by the way.  Two (in management) don't  like her.  The third says she's "indifferent'' to Felicia personally.


    Felicia was taking on the power structure of WP and the response from 'independent' media was to attack her.  One in management at WP this morning pointed that out and also told me that Michael Tracey was part of the bandwagon attacking her online this week.


    Ah, it makes sense doesn't it.


    Let's jump back to Glenn Greenwald.  I don't particularly care for Glenn.  This predates Snowden and predates THE GUARDIAN.  I have valid problems with Glenn.  But I did give him credit for breaking the news about the spying (thanks to Ed Snowden).


    And when he refused to go along with Betsy Reed and other well known liars -- not well known people, but well known for being liars -- I defended and praised him here.  


    He sacrificed a lot to do that and I respect that.  I noted here that I was tabling criticism on him and noted that on Naomi Wolf as well.


    Historically, I am Naomi's biggest critic online.  I'm also not that cozy with her in real life and that goes back to the 90s.  But the attacks on Naomi that popped up around 2020?  I wasn't going to be a part of that and I will stand by her right to say what she wants to say and against efforts to attack or silence her.  If I didn't have the current eye problems, I would be reading her book and offering an evaluation -- hopefully positive.  


    Krystal and Saagar talk about how cable 'news' is destroying the country.  Some group, I'm sure connected to David Brock, is working to defund FOX NEWS -- or as NPR wrongly stated "FOX."  FOX is an entertainment network now owned by WALT DISNEY.  


    I marvel over that.  With all the real problems in the world, some think the need is to take down FOX NEWS?  


    Interesting because I lived through times where the left actually did stuff -- broke into the FBI, for example, revealed real lies from the government, forced the end of the war on Vietnam -- and we never said, "Oh, we've got to stop THE NATIONAL REVIEW" or any other magazine.  We weren't that stupid or that lustful for censorship.  We believed in free speech. That's not the case today.


    Kit has every right to say what he wants to say -- even when it's stupid and idiotic.  But that doesn't mean he should say it.


    Not when he's silent on Iraq.  Not when he's silent on the ACLU.  Felicia's stupid enough to defend Amber Heard.  Well the ACLU wrote Amber's column.  The ACLU refused, in the London trial where Johnny sued a newspaper (Amber Heard was not a party to that lawsuit so Matriarchs in the Media need to stop speaking of her 'victory' in London -- it was Johnny Depp versus NEWS GROUP NEWSPAPERS), the ACLU refused to answer whether or not Amber had kept her promise and donated $3.5 million.  (The answer was NO and they knew it.)  And it is the ACLU that's being vindictive trying to bill Johnny for almost $90,000 for the 'work' and 'research' they had to do to testify at his trial and produce documents.  The op-ed libeled him -- that is what the court found -- and yet the ACLU is trying to charge him?


    He could sue them.  He could sue them for their ghost writing of the op-ed for what it claimed.  More to the point, the ACLU is a legal organization.  Johnny was very kind.  He did not go after Amber for breaking the contract that they signed.  He could go after the ACLU for their work that violated that contract, that broke that contract.  They're lawyers, they should have known better.


    He's not going to sue the ACLU-- I say that as someone who knows him -- but he should.


    But the point here is, Kip and the gang want to go after a woman -- any woman will do.


    They don't want to go after the ACLU.  They don't want to go after legacy media and call out THE WASHINGTON POST -- Bob Woodward should have been canned long ago.  His harassment in the workplace is not a secret.  


    But, hey, go after Felicia because she called Kobe a rapist!!!! Oh, the horror.  And she got David suspended!!! He got himself suspended and he may get himself fired.  (Again, defenders of David, you have been warned.)

    From what I'm told Felicia can be exasperating and that doesn't surprise me.  Most people who go up against a Goliath are.  


    There may be reasons to call her out -- again, I'll call her stupid for ignoring reality and defending Amber -- but to attack her -- as Kip has, as Jimmy Dore has, as Michael Tracey has -- as all the little dicked boys have -- is to side with the system. 


    That makes it clear that you're not independent media.


    I am independent.  I side with April Oliver to this day.  She reported the truth on CNN and just because a source gets some heat from the Pentagon and wants to change what he said on air?  That doesn't make April a liar.  He's on tape saying it.  


    It's amazing that -- as I type that -- I know Jimmy Dore has no idea who April Oliver is nor does Kip nor does Michael.


    Because they're really not about taking on the power structure.  They're about getting cash and when they do this circle jerk with one another then they make it really clear.  


    That's your warning sign.  Don't be stupid like I was decades back and ignore it.  Take them for what you can get from them but don't give them a cent.  They're going to betray you.  The signs are there.


    Jimmy?  Jimmy's pissed that the Green Party didn't give Jesse Ventura the nomination. That's a warning sign.  He's furious that the DNC rigged the primaries against Bernie.  Yet he thinks that the Green Party should have ignored the people who declared to run for the party's nomination and instead have given it to Jesse who is not a Green -- or left -- and who didn't declare a campaign for the nomination.  He's angry that they didn't do this.


    That's not just the height of hypocrisy  That's also your warning sign that he's not who he presents as.  Someone who truly believed in fair primaries wouldn't be arguing that Jesse should have been gifted with the nomination.


    It's not that DNC rigged the primaries that has Jimmy upset, it's that his candidate ( Bernie) didn't benefit.


    I'm telling you that's a warning sign.  


    Right now he rails against this and that but if the same tactics were used for what he wanted, he'd be all for them.


    That's who he is.


    And that doesn't mean he's awful and mean.  I have many friends who are exactly like that.  They are wonderful in other ways.  But I am always aware not to ever take them at face value.  It may be a long con, it may be a short con, but they're always running something.


    Is Jimmy Dore going to run for president?  Is that what this is all about?


    I have no idea.  But the constant drumbeat of Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy is a turn off.  I refused to meet George Michael back when he was in Wham and when he was putting out his first album.  When I did meet him, he wanted to know why.  We became good friends.  But as I explained, when people hype someone all the time, it turns me off.  And I'm not alone in that.  Nora Ephron wrote a classic essay about that and how Liza and other cover stories at that time could never, ever live up to the hype these outlets were churning out.


    You're hyping him only makes me not want to like him and not want to like you.  Why in the world is your program constantly mentioning him when you are ignoring so many realities in the world?  Is he click bait?  I have no idea what your obsession with him is.  But there are real stories and real issues out there and what mean thing someone said about a comic doesn't really interest me.  And it certainly didn't interest you when the comic was Roseanne Barr and when a corporation stole her life's work.  


    I don't see any greatness in Jimmy as a comic.  At THIRD, Ava and I called out Joan Rivers for comments she made on WBAI.  Joan was furious with me over that and made it known with a loud and long phone call.  I bring that up because in the midst of a lengthy, screaming monologue at me, she stopped and laughed.  "I hate everyone," she said.  "That's an idea I can run with."  And she did.  That's what made her a comic genius.  From her yelling over the phone, she developed a book that was a best seller and she went edgier than she'd ever been before.  That's comic genius.  


    Jimmy's a third-rate comedian who does a show that celebrates White people.  And, Kit, you're the reason I have to say that because you won't stop pimping him.  That's how my brain works.  I have serious issues to address.  I've never really thought about Jimmy until right now when you're hype has forced me to figure out where Jimmy falls on the scale of greatness.  He falls off the scale.  And that's reality.  


    You remind me of a really kind actress I know who is also very dumb and she went on and on about ROOSTER TEETH -- I may not have that title right.  In 2014, she was obsessed with them and their greatness.  They weren't great.  This is the Jimmy Dore Bandwagon.  It's not going anywhere just like ROOSTER TEETH didn't.  She got me to watch and it was a lot like Jimmy Dore.  I watched about three hours with her and then I asked her, "Did you not notice the lack of women?  Did you not notice every man was White? Are they trying to create content in the 21st century or do they think this is 1957?"


    ROOSTER TEETH has never achieved.  They've wasted a ton of money and are in danger of being dropped (DISCOVERY sees them at having had millions of dollars poured into them but having produced nothing of quality and having never expanded their initial, limited reach).  


    I'm really bothered by the pile on of Felicia for many reasons.  Again, there are worthy targets.  It reminds me of a 'woke' comedy special that Ava and I'll probably rip apart this weekend.  It's cute how we have a 'woke' comedy special and we're all supposed to ignore, for example, the woman on stage -- Jewish -- who uses the N-word all the time in the past (not in this special of course) and who went to town on Britney Spears (not in this special of course).  


    Ava and I didn't go off on Britney Spears.  We were covering the media when it took place.  And we noted that we wouldn't be joining in the public stoning, we noted that the dogpile was offensive.  


    It's called "Bash The Bitch" and Ava and I publicly called it out long ago:


    Who knew it was a war crime? Katie Couric was a cheerleader and an army of Beate Klarsfelds are on her trail in an attempt to warn America of this dangerous contravention of the law. We imagine it's only a matter of time before the tribunal is held. The cheerleader as Eichmann, no doubt, sends shudders through the hearts of many women on the left, center and right, since they too may be charged.

    Couric's apparent crime, for some on the left, is saying that Navy Seals "rock." That moment was immortalized in Michael Moore's FAHRENHEIT 9/11 and seems to be the chief piece of evidence that will be introduced when the commentators gather at the Hague.

    For some of the left, though not all, that's at the root of their pursuit of Couric. It's the gift of impunity that allows them to operate in a fact-free environment as they compose the charges against Couric. But those who hear such a statement and nod agreeably are also engaged in the national pastime of bash-the-bitch.

    Bash the bitch is as American as apple pie and rush to judgement, so who are we to complain?
    If it makes us "America haters" to say "Just a minute now" then so be it. Let all the ones partaking in bash-the-bitch wrap themselves in Old Glory, we'll call it the way we see it.

    Here's what we see. A woman's trashed. For what she did?

    Oh cookie, please, it's for being a woman. Read the commentaries. "Cheerleader" is a trumped up charge -- as usual, the true crime is gender.


    The zeal with which Kit goes to town on Felicia makes it clear this is about bash the bitch, the zeal and the glee  Watch his smirk, watch him clap his hands in delight.  And the pile on that he's part of makes that clear as well.  They need to take a look at themselves and how they critique women.  They won't, but they need to.  They rage against Felicia  as though she started the Iraq War. 


    That's not a fair statement.  


    I apologize. 


    They've never raged on Bully Boy Bush as much as they rage on Felicia.  



    And that really is part of the problem.  


    You can start an illegal war as a man and these same voices will coddle you or laugh humorously about you.  The real hatred only comes out from this crowd if you're a woman.


    I have no problem with tone, I don't police word choice.  But I do expect that you critique fairly and consistently.  What I see is that a kinder approach is used for male criminals (including child molesters) than is used for a woman.  



    YOUTUBERS need to stop pimping Jimmy Dore and start covering reality.


    It's June 10th?  What does that mean in Iraq?  That the political stalemate is now eight months long.


    AP has an article, please read it.  A friend at AP called to ask if I'd be including it?  I told him to e-mail me the link.  Here for the report by Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Samya Kullab.


    He read parts of Qassim and Samya's article to me over the phone.  I have not read it myself nor am I able to.  I'm actually supposed to be resting my eyes.  But I will note that we finally have a US news source noting Nouri al-Maliki and his large role in the stalemate.  We've covered him from the start, covered him before the election, because he's one of the biggest political players in Iraq.  Former prime minister and forever thug Nouri was underestimated by the western press -- especially the US press.  What was read to me -- not the Nouri parts -- I had a quibble or two with but what was read was also a strong report.


    Again, this is now eight months since the election and no prime minister, no president.  And no moving forward per the Court for that reason.  


    The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.  And typos are what they are, my vision is almost gone completely, I have got to go rest my eyes.


    ADDED: The following sites updated:







  • Read on ...

    Friday, May 6, 2022

    Ridin With Biden

    biden gals



    From April 29, 2020, that's "Ridin With Biden."  C.I. noted:

    Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Ridin With Biden."  A zaftig Hillary Clinton stands next to mortal enemy Nancy Pelosi.  Hillary insists, "We can't afford to blink this November."  Nancy offers, "I can't blink at all.  I'm stretched tighter than a drum."  Hillary counters, "Criticize me all you want, at least I still look human." Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS. 

    I think that was the first time I noted Nancy's massive plastic surgery in a comic. 

    The woman's addicted to plastic surgery and she's a politician, it surprises me that more people don't question that.

    Contrast her with Hillary Clinton who is 8 years younger than Nancy and seems far more comfortable in her own skin.



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

     Friday, May 6, 2022.  Another severe sandstorm hits Iraq as it still struggles with the political stalemate, Margaret Kimberley and Ajamu Barack ask serious questions about intent and purpose in their latest commentaries, and much more.


    Let's open with this from Margaret Kimberley's latest at BLACK AGENDA REPORT:


    On April 4, 1967 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. gave one of the most significant speeches of his career. In “Beyond Vietnam - Time to Break Silence ” King declared his unequivocal opposition to the war in Vietnam. His very public break with Lyndon Johnson was greeted with derision, including from his own allies, who believed that the president was an ally who should not be attacked. The NAACP board passed a resolution calling King’s statement a “serious tactical mistake” that would neither “serve the cause of civil rights nor of peace.” The media joined in the condemnation, with the New York Times characterizing his comments as “facile” and “slander.” Even Black newspapers such as The Pittsburgh Courier judged his remarks to be “tragically misleading.”

    It is important to remember this speech in which he declared that the United States was “the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today.” There are individuals and organizations who routinely claim King’s mantle until they fall prey to the war propaganda promoted by the present day purveyors of violence.

    The Rev. Dr. William Barber is sadly one such person. In an April 30, 2022 email on the subject Moral Clarity About Our Own Atrocities he made many specious arguments on the issue of war as it pertains to U.S. policy in Ukraine.

    “To see the butchery at Bucha or the massacre at Mariupol and do nothing would be to forfeit any claim to moral authority. We know this instinctively. It is why, despite the political gridlock on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats have acted swiftly to approve historic military aid to Ukraine. In the face of such a moral imperative, it would be anathema for either party to ask, “How are we going to pay for it?”

    There is no independent investigation of what the Biden administration and corporate media label as “massacres.” No one who claims to act in the interests of humanity should praise the historic levels of military aid to Ukraine, an oligarchic kleptocracy under U.S. control which depends upon military and police support from openly neo-Nazi formations. So blatant are the connections that in past years members of congress have moved to ensure that these groups are denied U.S. aid .

    Furthermore, Rev. Barber ought to know that questions of funding for domestic needs must always be raised. Joe Biden is requesting $33 billion in aid to Ukraine, which means money for the military industrial complex, after ending stimulus payments and other support for struggling people in this country. Barber opens his email with the story of a woman who lost children in her care to a child welfare agency after the termination of the child tax credit program plunged her into poverty. It is disturbing to see Barber’s attempt to have it both ways, demanding help for the poor while also supporting the system that keeps them in their condition.

    The child tax credit which kept families afloat disappeared, along with enhanced unemployment benefits, anti-eviction protection, and free covid related treatments to the uninsured. The much vaunted Build Back Better bill is dead and Biden seems uninterested in resurrecting it. It is reasonable to ask the Biden administration for a monetary accounting  and for an explanation of how their actions led to a humanitarian disaster for the Ukrainian people, mass theft from Americans’ public resources, and a risk of hot war with the Russian Federation.

    Barber and the Poor People’s Campaign are preparing for a  Poor People’s and Low-Wage Workers Assembly and Moral March on Washington and to the Polls taking place on June 18, 2022. His ill conceived email was meant to bring attention to this event but instead he brought attention to the deep connections that liberal politics has with right wing forces. 


    Another severe sandstorm has hit Iraq.



    There have already been two severe sandstorms in Iraq in the last five weeks -- see "AFP needs to learn to count -- over 429 is not 'dozens'"  and "Iraq snapshot."   Their frequency is on the rise and this is not by chance but an effect of climate change. Sandstorms "increased from 243 to 272 days per year over the past two decades, and is expected to reach 300 dusty days annually in 2050."  Louise Franco (NATURE WORLD NEWS) notes:


    Although sand storms are common in Iraq, they have become more frequent over the years due to various weather and climatic factors, such as declining rainfall, desertification, and drought, according to Amer al-Jabri, director of Iraq's meteorological office, as cited by France 24 news.


    And PHYS.ORG adds, "In November, the World Bank warned that Iraq could suffer a 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050 due to climate change."

    BBC notes:


    One person has died and more than 5,000 people have been admitted to hospitals with breathing problems in Iraq after a seventh severe dust storm in a month.

    A health ministry spokesman said 2,000 of the cases of "suffocation" had been reported in Baghdad province, according to the official Iraqi News Agency.

    He advised people with asthma and other chronic diseases to stay indoors.


    AFP observes, "Residents of six of Iraq's 18 provinces, including Baghdad and the vast western region of Al-Anbar, awoke once again to a thick cloud of dust blanketing the sky.  As the storm swept across Iraq, it shrouded the capital Baghdad and the holy city of Najaf in ghostly orange clouds of choking dust."  Click here for a photo essay.  Australia's ABC adds, "State media reported Thursday's sandstorm was the seventh to hit the country in the past month."  Isabella Kwai files a report for THE NEW YORK TIMES which includes:


    Although it is difficult to directly link individual weather events with climate change, experts say it is one driver behind sandstorms that are growing in frequency and intensifying. And climate change will likely compound the challenges ahead for a country like Iraq, which is already facing water shortages after low rainfalls and increasing temperature.

    Twenty years ago, Iraq could expect about two sandstorms each year, said Professor Jaafar Jotheri, a geoarcheologist at the University of Al-Qadisiyah. This year, it is expected that about 20 sandstorms will hit Iraq, he said.

    Visibility was so poor during a sandstorm this week that flights from the Baghdad and Najaf airports had to be grounded, according to the Iraqi Civil Aviation Authority.

    “It is a disaster,” Professor Jotheri said, adding that sandstorms were becoming a regular feature of TV weather forecasts in Iraq. The increase in sandstorms could cause respiratory problems, road accidents and changes to the economy — pushing people to consider migrating away from the country’s drier west, he said. “The sandstorms are changing the Iraqi way of life.”


    Mary Gilbert (ACCUWEATHER) explains:


    In April, environment ministry official Issa al-Fayad warned Iraq could face "272 days of dust" per year in the coming decades, according to INA, the Iraqi state news agency.

    This projected increase in the overall number of dusty days is due to Iraq and much of the surrounding areas becoming hotter and drier over time due to climate change. A lack of rainfall has led to a lack of moisture in the area soils and sands for Iraq. 


    And PRESS TV points out, "The World Bank has already warned that Iraq - a country of 41 million people - could suffer a 20 percent drop in water resources by 2050. "


    Iraq is no different from most countries in the world when it comes to not dealing seriously with climate change.  Around the world, citizens lives are devalued and the earth destroyed by faux actions and outright ignorance on the part of their so-called representatives.

    In Iraq, a country still at war and still occupied by the US, it may be a little worse because (a)  they are predicted to be one of the fie most harmed countries in the world by climate change over the coming decades and (b) they really don't have a government.


    October 10th.  That's when the country held elections.  Since then, the only high level position filled was Speaker of Parliament with the same person who held the office before the election).  They have yet to name a president or a prime minister-designate.


    In four days, it will be seven months since the election.  As we speak to students, they ask how does this not get huge coverage?


    The answer can be found in 2010.  The western press bent over backwards to ignore what was taking place.  In the US that was to protect the administration.  A cable news friend explained at the time that they couldn't cover it too prominently because it would look like they were attacking Barack Obama, the sitting president.


    In march 2010, Iraqis had voted.  The western press had whored for Nouri al-Maliki who was the incumbent seeking a second term.  They did that despire the fact that it was already known he was running secret prisons and torture chambers and despite the fact that it was clear the CIA's projection that Nouri's paranoia would make him easy to control was not the case.  


    That political stalemate lasted eight months with Nouri refusing to tep down and Barack -- on the advice of Samantha Power and Susan Rice -- deciding that demoncracy sidn't matter, toss out the Iraqi votes and give Nouri a second term.  He lost the election.  But the US government crafted a contract, The Erbil Agreement, that they got various political parties and blocs to sign off on which gave Nouri a second term.  The day after that contract was signed, Parliament held a session and named a president who immediately named a prime minister-designate (which was Nouri).


    Now when THE GUARDIAN did an editorial calling out the comments by Barack about what a success the election was, a cable network finally felt that they could seriously cover what was gongon.


    That's who a 'free' press works in the US.


    As bad as the coverage in the US was prior to THE GUARDIAN editorial, it did get a tiny bit of attention.  Thats really not the case with this stalemate which, again, hits seven months in four days.


    The Iraqi people are suffering and there is no government assembled all this time later.  That's a detail that the western press  is normalizing -- again normalizing.


    Harry Istepanian Tweets:


    #Iraq - The local media reports: the name of Abdul Latif Rashid, the former Minister of Water Resources is emerging as compromise candidate for Iraq presidency.


    Another topic the western press loves to ignore is the way Turkey is committing Acts of War in northern Iraq as they continue to bomb the Kurdistan, continue to maintain ground troops and bases in the Kurdistan and continue to violate Iraq's national sovereignty.   PERSECUTION.ORG notes:


    As a result of the Turkish offensive and conflict with the PKK, at least eight predominantly Christian villages in the Amedi region of Duhok province have been completely abandoned. Turkey announced its latest air and ground offensive, Operation Claw Lock on April 18, which follows twin offensives in 2021 and 2022.

    Though the PKK is also dubbed a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, Turkey’s indiscriminate bombing of Iraqi Kurdistan has led to the displacement of residents of many Christian villages. As reported by Rudaw, more than 500 villages have been emptied in the Kurdistan Region in the past three decades of Turkey-PKK fighting.

    Simultaneously, the Iraqi army is combatting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and its affiliates, resulting in the displacement of over three thousand residents as of earlier this week from Sinjar. The majority of the displaced fled to Duhok. The army later declared control of a Sinjar village that had been controlled by armed groups post-Islamic State.



    We'll wind down with this from Ajamu Baraka's latest column (BLACK AGENDA REPORT):


    Rev. William Barber, an indisputable champion of the poor and a consistent voice demanding an end to poverty, may have made a serious moral and ethical error that effectively placed him outside of the “Kingian” framework that informed Dr. King’s work especially during the last year of his life.  

    In an attempt to make a point about the flawed priorities of the duopoly, Dr. Barber wrote in an email to the “movement family” on Saturday, April 30, 2022 that, “despite the political gridlock on Capitol Hill, Republicans and Democrats have acted swiftly to approve historic military aid to Ukraine. In the face of such a moral imperative, it would be anathema for either party to ask, “How are we going to pay for it?”

    He then went on to suggest that the “moral clarity” that informed the decision to provide military support to Ukraine was contradicted by the lack of moral clarity or support for addressing the pressing needs of the poor. He identified those two contradictory policy orientations – money for war but no money to pass “Build Back Better” legislation, for example, as representing the moral and ethical contradiction at the heart of U.S. politics.

    I will give our dear brother the benefit of the doubt. He was making the point that the duopoly will support in a bipartisan manner those items that it deems a priority. For Rev. Barber and the Campaign, the issue of poverty and its devastating social consequences should be a priority for the U.S. state. However, in trying to make that point Rev Barber seemed to support the Biden’s administration’s war policies which as a follower of Dr. King would seem like a major contradiction. It would seem that to equate a moral imperative for providing military aid to Ukraine to wage war, no matter if it is claimed to be defensive, would be a dramatic departure from the non-violence ethos at the center of Dr. King's worldview.

    Dr. King said himself that it was his silence on the war that presented a moral contradiction that could only be ultimately resolved by him speaking out in opposition to the Vietnam war . It is unimaginable that Dr. King would give his blessings to a military aid package that Rev. Barber’s language appears to do while simultaneously not demanding an end to the conflict as Rev Barber clearly failed to do in his communication to the movement family. We must now ask Rev Barber if his characterization of the military aid package as a moral imperative was just a clumsy use of words or does he actually support the ultimate expression of violence – war?  

    We all know the history. After the student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and all the radical Black liberation and socialist organizations had condemned the war in Vietnam, Dr. King finally broke his silence, as he framed it, and began to speak out against the war in early 1967 with the most extensive and important speech on April 4, 1967, at the Riverside Church in New York. The capitalist rulers understand symbols and so on April 4, 1968, Dr. King was murdered in Memphis where he was supporting a strike of Black sanitation workers against the Memphis city government.

    Rev. Barber claims that “King was gunned down for his efforts to build a Poor People’s Campaign.” There is no doubt that the poor people’s campaign was a significant factor. The rulers understood the danger of Dr. King venturing into class politics, especially with his social democratic positions becoming more evident. But what Barber glosses over is that while the poor people’s campaign was seen as a threat, it was King’s break with the democratic party establishment, and at that time the majority position of the U.S. public who supported the war effort, that made Dr. King the most hated man in the country.


    Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Experts" went up last night and his "21 DUMPSTER" the night before.  He's planning on posting one tonight and one Saturday as well. The following sites updated:





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